Demons and Humans
by ElementalSister
Summary: Naruto died, but Nine Tails hadn't appeared. Sasuke actually came back to the village because Naruto died for him. Everyone felt the sting of his death, but what if he came back. Just he wasn't human anymore? Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

A roar echoed over the land. It was hurt and angry. After that, a screaming cry followed. Naruto Uzumaki was dead. He had died from protecting Sasuke from Tobi's last blow. Sasuke, finally pulled himself from his hatred and let the world know that losing Naruto had hurt. He even went back to the village. (Though he was on major parole)

Everyone was hurt and upset from Losing Naruto, so much that no one realized that the nine tails hadn't escaped from Naruto's body. In fact, the nine tails cause Naruto to be 'reborn' into a _**real**_ demon. And he to learn how to control his new abilities so he had disappeared to the **Demon Plain **for a few years. What would happened when he had decided to go back to Konaha? How much trouble would a demon Naruto get into?

Chapter 1 (Coming Home)

The body of a mangled and mutilated deer laid in the middle of an abandoned road. Little blood was found near the body. It looked like a predatory animal had caught its meal. Near the dead body, two figures, hidden in the shadows, sat beside a tree. One looked like it was licking its hand. Just from the outline of the bodies, it was easy to tell one was female and the other was male.

"Azaelia, can we go now?" A slightly high pitched male voice whined and looked at the figure licking its hand.

"Already? But we just ate." A smooth female voice replied.

"I want to get there soon."

"We will. Nothing is faster than us."

Nothing was said after that. They sat there for a few more minutes, staring at the road. The male with dark crimson eyes and the female with dark violet eyes. Both with vertical, fox-like pupils. As the sun started to go down is when they finally moved. Still traveling in the shadows, not wanting to be seen, there was an air of mystery around the two, but somehow not a dangerous one.

(Konaha)

Sasuke stood at the tombstone solemnly. This was the only place his watchers didn't follow him, the only place he was able to show any emotion. There were all sorts of flowers beside it. Everyone missed the loud, overly hyper and confident blonde. Sakura came by three times a week, Hinata just as much and everyone else visited once a week.

But everyone else was able to move one better. Hinata was just about as strong as Neji, Shikamaru was still one of the exam proctors. Sakura was close to exceeding Tsunade in medial ninjutsu and in strength (Plus she had gotten with Rock Lee). Choji was skinny and Ino was with Sai (who was not as monotone now) Even Gaara had stayed as Kazekage was announced the strongest yet. Sasuke, on the other hand, wasn't able too.

He still felt the stinging pain, still felt the hollowness eat at him day after day. Sometimes he felt like just ending his loneliness, but every time Sakura managed to talk him out of it.

"Why," He would cry when he knew he was alone at the grave. "Why couldn't you have just let Tobi kill me instead?"

And everyday Sasuke wished he could see Naruto again and tell him how much he missed him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 (Meeting new people)

Sasuke left the gravesite and continued back in the village, knowing that his parole officers were back. He didn't care as he walked with his head down, wasn't really paying attention to the people around him. Until someone bumped into him hard enough that both fell to the ground. He looked up fiercely.

"Watch it!" He snapped rudely.

"I'm sorry." replied a girl. Her voice was smooth and friendly.

Sasuke took a good look at her. She had shoulder length silver and red hair, soft, but bright, green eyes and tan flawless skin. Her outfit consisted of a dark red midriff, with the right sleeve missing, a matching mini skirt paired with fishnet leggings. She happened to be barefoot as well. He inwardly admitted that she was a little cute.

She stood up quickly and held out her hand to help him up. When he grabbed her hand, he noted her skin was smooth and soft. She smiled at him similar to Naruto, but more feminine. That's when Sasuke noticed that her figure resembled Naruto's 'Sexy Jutsu' she was just a little more bustier.

"I didn't mean to bump into you. I just wanted to get back to the hotel before my friend woke up." She said excitedly. "He can get kind of whiny when he's hungry."

"It's fine, just be more careful." He said low.

She was about to leave when Sasuke heard a few voices approaching. Kiba and Shikamaru were walking up with the two older Sand Siblings, Temari and Kankuro. Sasuke didn't want to talk to them at the moment so he tried to look occupied. He decided to talk to the girl more.

"What's your name anyway?" He asked. "I guess your visiting."

"Oh. My name is Zael Rose." She said happily. "And actually my friend and I are trying to find a place to live here. What's your name?"

"Sasuke Uchiha." He replied back. '_Damn. I can't think of anything to talk about_.' he thought angrily to himself.

"Hey Sasuke!" Kiba called as they got closer. "Who's the cutie?"

They walked up and stopped right at Sasuke and Zael. He inwardly growled at them and just wished that they'd go away. He didn't need the two couples here. It was a known fact that Temari and Shikamaru were together and only a few people knew that Kiba and Kankuro were together.

"Hi!" She said just as happily. "I'm Zael."

They proceeded to introduce themselves and Sasuke used the small amount of time to leave. He walked around the Hotel and stopped for a brief time. He saw someone staring at him, through the window and curtain. Normally, he wouldn't care but the person appeared to be around his age (18-19) blonde and blue-eyed. Sasuke swore that he was looking at Naruto. It only lasted for a minute, though it felt like forever, because the other person let go of the curtain as he turned around.

Sasuke was in a daze for the rest of the day after that. He couldn't think straight at all, just went through the motions of his days. Was it really possible Naruto was back?

'_No_,' Sasuke thought. '_Just my mind playing a cruel trick_.'

(Konaha Hotel)

Zael walked in her room, seeing her friend turned to face her after staring out the window. She smiled lightly at the blue eyed blonde as he approached her slowly. He looked at her right in the eyes solemnly, but eventually smiled back. Zael could see the intense sadness in Naruto Uzumaki's eyes. And she felt sad herself.

"Naruto." She said quietly.

"It's ok, Azaelia." He cut her off. "I'll be fine, just can't wait until night falls."

"You gonna visit him?" She asked him seriously. "I won't stop you, but be careful."

He smiled and nodded his head before sitting on the bed. Zael followed and proceeded to tell him about her day so far. Since no one knew Zael, she was able to walk around the village. But she had snooped around as well. She told him what she learned about his friends, which put a smile on his face. She had met all of them except for his old teachers and Gaara. It was long before Zael wanted a bath.

"You need to be careful for this." He warned, being uncharacteristically serious. "If anyone saw…"

"I promise to be careful." She reassured him. "No one will know." She smiled devilishly before leaving.

Naruto watched the door then laid down on his bed. He wasn't big on the fact that foxes were more tired during the daytime, but he couldn't really control that part. He sighed when a memory hit him. Today was the day both genders could share the hot springs.

'_Shit. Azaelia, please don't get carried away_.' Naruto thought as he closed his eyes.

(Hot Springs)

Zael smiled as the lady at the counter lead her I. Her smile was a little sly after being told today was for both genders. She was kind of hoping to be alone, but bathing with males was pretty ok to her. When she first got there, she was the only one. She soaked in the water for a good while when she heard approaching feet. Thanks to her overdeveloped senses, she knew it was three people coming and all of them male. (Thanks to her nose.)

She sat up a bit and sniffed the air, after backing up against the rocks. Two of the males smelled of each other and sex, but the other was single and had never been touched. She heard the lady warn them about her already being there and that they were fine with it. The door slid open and Zael smiled shrewdly to herself. All were rather cute, especially the one who was single.

Of course, she didn't know who he was as he was one of the few people she hadn't met. But that didn't matter. One of the other two was his brother, which she knew by scent, and she figured who he was rather quickly.

"Wow, I get some company." She giggled innocently. The two she knew smiled back at her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 (Dreams)

"Wow, I get some company." She giggled innocently. The two she knew smiled back at her. The other looked slightly uncomfortable.

Kiba, Kankuro and Gaara stood before her with only towels covering their lower regions. Zael inwardly screamed. Kiba and Kankuro were both good looking, Kankuro especially without the paint like now, and Gaara really caught her attention. The short messy red hair, the sea green eyes with the black tanuki rings. Zael just smiled.

"Hey new girl." Kiba said excitedly as he was the first to get in the water. Akamaru laid down near the edge.

"I have a name.." She pouted playfully.

"Yeah dog-boy," Kankuro gently rapped his head,. "Come on Gaara. She isn't going to bite."

Gaara looked at his brother then at Zael. She smiled childishly at him and waved. He took a deep breath before getting in the water, settling in on the opposite side of her. He didn't seem all too comfortable with her being there. Zael whined quietly.

"Maybe I should go." She said and began to stand up.

"Why?" Kiba whined playfully. "We just got here."

"It's not too relaxing when you're uncomfortable." She smiled politely. "I don't want to hinder a relaxing time for the Kazekage."

Gaara finally looked at her after hearing both Kankuro and Kiba whined loudly. He just stared at her a little as she smiled at him He looked away first but finally voiced his opinion.

"Don't leave on my account." He told her. "This is my first time public bathing, I'd be uncomfortable with anyone."

Zael smiled and settled back against the edge. Kiba and Kankuro had started splashing each other and acting like kids. Gaara kept moving to dodge the water and wound up closer to Zael. Once he realized this he moved away quickly, causing Zael to giggle lightly. Eventually, she joined with Kiba and Kankuro in their splashing war, forgetting about the fact she needed to hide her back. No one noticed for the longest time, until Akamaru barked and whined while looking at Zael.

Gaara was the first to see her back. There was symbol literally carved onto her back. It was a rose and it took up most of her upper back where the midriff shirt would cover it. Each line was blood red and rather deep. Zael was cussing herself out in her mind as the three boys looked at it.

"What happened, Zael?" Kiba was the first to ask.

'_What am I gonna say?_' Zael screamed in her head. '_I can't tell them the truth, Naruto would kill me._'

"Zael?" Kankuro moved a little closer and touch her shoulder, near the mark. She jumped and shivered in response.

"I'm sorry guys." She said like a sad child. "It's hard to talk about it. My parents etched it into my back when I was just a little girl. I'm usually more careful, I don't like showing people."

"Why would they do that?" Kiba asked with true concern.

"From my home village, I was considered a brat child because a few incidents." She sniffed. "This was basically to let everyone know I was no good. They all hated me."

She kept her back to them, letting tears fall. She knew how to fake cry luckily. What surprised her was that it was Gaara the first to touch her. The look in his eyes was understanding and care. She had forgotten that he was similar to Naruto, though she hadn't made up the whole story. He actually smiled at her gently and she smiled back. Not long after that, they were back to relaxing. Not before she made them promise not to tell anyone.

The sun was just barely starting to set when she left. She told them all goodbye and even hugged Gaara. Of course he had frozen slightly at the touch. Zael knew she needed to hurry back to the hotel before Naruto left. So she ran behind the hot spring building and disappeared, reappearing back at the hotel. She got inside the room right as Naruto finished changing.

His outfit was similar to his last. An orange and black sleeveless jacket with a black t-shirt underneath. Matching orange pants that hugged his form, but he was barefoot. The Uzumaki Clan symbol was on the left sleeve of his shirt instead of the back of the jacket. He didn't have the headband, but had tied a black rope in its place. In a way, he looked like the human he had once been.

"I'm back." She chirped happily.

"Any problems?" He asked as he turned towards the door. 'Or did you have a fun time?" He asked after seeing her bright smile.

"Oh I had a blast. I got to bath with Kiba, Kankuro and Gaara." She giggled, not realizing she blushed when she mentioned Gaara.

"Oh wow." Naruto laughed. "You like Gaara."

"I do not!" She growled slightly, only causing Naruto to laugh harder.

"Don't lie." He said as he walked beside her, about to leave the room. "I can smell your arousal."

With that, Naruto disappeared and Zael was left with a deep blush running across her nose. After a minute or two she growled at the door and walked to her bed. She admitted to herself that she did think he was the most good looking guy she had seen, but did she like him that much? She kept arguing with herself as she lay there on her bed. One bad thing about her breed of demon, she rarely got any sleep. So she stayed there arguing in her head for hours.

(Uchiha Mansion)

Sasuke groaned as he walked in his house. He was happy that the parole officers were gone, but he knew he couldn't leave the house (or have anyone visit him) without them knowing. He had been under close watch for three years, couldn't they ease up a little? Sasuke almost growled as he threw the groceries on the table.

He walked into his room to be greeted by an old picture of Team Kakashi. Sasuke could feel tears well up as he looked at the picture where Naruto and himself had been glaring at each other. Memories started playing in his head like a movie, stalling at the two times they had accidentally kissed. He couldn't admit back then, or even now, but he liked Naruto more than a friend. Hard as it was for him to say, Sasuke Uchiha was in love in Naruto Uzumaki.

A small creak pulled him from his thoughts and Sasuke got the feeling he wasn't alone. He quietly grabbed a kunai and started to check the house. He would've known if the officers wee coming to check on him so somehow someone got in without them knowing. He looked around everywhere but saw no one. He growled to himself for getting worked up easily and headed back to his room.

It wasn't empty when he entered it. Standing in the middle was a blue eyed blonde boy with whisker like markings on his cheeks. Naruto Uzumaki was in his room. Sasuke dropped the kunai and rubbed at his eyes, Naruto was still there when he looked again. Dream or not, Sasuke didn't care as he approached the blonde.

"Na…Naruto?" He whispered. "H..how?"

Naruto didn't respond right away, but smiled gently as he closed the small gape between them. Sasuke didn't know it, but Naruto could smell his emotions. Even the small arousal. When they were standing with less than an inch between them, Sasuke noted that he was still taller, but not by much. He also noted than there was a stronger aura around Naruto, a more dominating aura.

"What's up, teme?" Naruto asked quietly. "Did you miss me?"

Sasuke, being lost for words, nodded strongly. But he didn't stay lost for long. "Why did you do that?" he almost yelled at he blonde.

"Shh." Naruto laughed. "Don't want your parole officers here, do you?" Sasuke opened and closed his mouth a few times. "And I didn't come here to talk about that. I came because I wanted to tell you something special."

"Dobe," Sasuke choked a little. "You have no idea…" He couldn't finish. Even after all this time, he had a hard time expressing how he felt. His 'Uchiha' pride always got in the way.

Naruto chuckled. He could sense the emotions running through Sasuke's mind so he didn't need to hear anymore. Instead he kissed him, purposely and gently. He was being careful so his fangs didn't graze Sasuke and hurt him. It took Sasuke a few seconds to register what was going on, but he did kiss back and with some force.

'_Most likely this is a dream_,' Sasuke thought. '_But I'm at least going to live it up_.'

Sasuke was aiming to be the dominate one, but Naruto kept pushing him back. Eventually, they landed on the bed, Sasuke on bottom and already shirtless. Naruto suppressed more than half of his desires, only because he didn't want to hurt Sasuke. He couldn't do everything. Not yet. But he decided to go far enough to satisfy himself. Within minutes both were shirtless.

(Morning: Uchiha house)

Sasuke woke up with a start as the sun shone through his window. He was in his house, in his bed, alone. He looked around the empty room, there was no other sign of someone else. Sasuke sighed as he sat up. He looked down and realized he was shirtless and his pants were just a little low. He looked up and just stared blankly at his door. Maybe it wasn't a dream…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 (Getting Caught)

It had been a week and a half since Sasuke started having dreams about Naruto. He wasn't sure whether or not to really believe they were dreams or not, but he didn't want them to end. So he never questioned them. Every dream ends around the same place, Sasuke will aim for their pants but that's the farthest he can ever remember. He wish he could dream more, but, at the moment, he was fine with just this. At least he got to see Naruto and hear him say 'I love you' every night.

Even his mood had gone up a little bit. He wasn't as depressed anymore, but he still didn't care to spend time with anyone. He noticed, though, that all of his old friends had started to hang with the new girl, Zael. Sasuke knew she was rather friendly and energetic, seeing as how she tries to invite him to spend time with them everyday. Today, though, he was going to ask her to spend time with him. Alone.

'_My dreams started the day I met her_' He had thought. '_Maybe they'll get stronger if I speak more to her._'

He had been looking for her for well over an hour when he finally found her at the gravesite, standing at Naruto's tombstone. Her face was serious and set which seemed weird for someone who acted so childish. Sasuke quietly approached her, feeling the parole officers leave. He coughed slightly, letting her know her was there. She turned and faced him, giving a small smile.

"Morning Sasuke." She said, her voice low and quiet.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as he stood beside her.

"A lot of the people I've met talk about him." She smiled. "He was loved here greatly so I thought I would visit, just to say hi."

They stood there for a few minutes, just looking at the stone. Sasuke didn't notice he had let a tear escape until he felt Zael finger on his cheek.

"You must have been his best friend." She stated quietly, smiling gently. "I can feel your pain."

"He died because of me." Sasuke responded, almost coldly. But it was faked.

Zael didn't say anything and Sasuke, not knowing why, told her the story. By the end, they were sitting on a grassy hill nearby. Neither one responded right away, actually there was a silence for near fifteen minutes before anyone spoke. Zael was the first one.

"Sounds like a rough patch, but a true friendship." She said. Sasuke gave her a look that said 'how the hell?' She just laughed. "I don't know, it just seems, from the story, like he really cared about you and your actions say the same."

The silence continued after that, but it wasn't awkward. Zael was smiling gently while Sasuke was deep in thought. A few times he looked at her for a second or two then went back to his thoughts. No one had made him really think about all this, but her words hit something on the mark. She stood up and stretched after a while.

"Wow, the sun's starting to set." She said happily. "End of one day, almost time to make a clean slate!"

"What?" Sasuke looked up at her. He hadn't moved yet.

"A new day, a new night." She started. "Almost like turning the page in a book, you can start over."

Sasuke looked at the sun before standing up. Zael was still smiling and Sasuke noticed she reminded him of Naruto. Just not as loud or hyper and maybe a bit more serious.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked him seriously. He nodded. "Have you ever thought about how strongly you care for Naruto?"

She turned to leave as he stood there with a blank look. She smiled. "You smelled of arousal when you talked about him." She had muttered, not thinking he had heard. But of course, he had and now he was just a little confused. He stood there for a while longer before heading home. It was almost time to see Naruto again.

(Konaha)

Zael didn't feel like going back to the hotel, knowing full well that Naruto wouldn't be there. Even though she understood why, she did get lonely every night by herself. Of course, she was lonely now since everyone was at their home. She sat on the edge of the bridge and looked at the moon's reflection in the water, wishing she could fall asleep like everyone else.

"Why are you out here so late?" Zael didn't need to turn around to know it was Gaara.

"I like the nighttime." She answered softly. "It's a peaceful time."

Gaara sat beside her and looked at the moon. They sat there like that for the longest time, luckily Gaara hadn't noticed that Zael was hiding a creeping blush. She was scolding herself because she had to admit that Naruto was right.

"Can I tell you something?" Gaara asked her quietly.

"Hmm," She just snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh, yeah go ahead."

It went silent again, but Zael could see that he was having a hard time with his thoughts.

"You…"He hesitated, unsure of whether he really wanted to ask or not. "You're…never mind."

He looked away and Zael whined quietly which cause him to looked back at her. She smiled innocently and gently then just looked back up at the moon. Gaara followed suit and they stayed like that for most of the night.

(Uchiha Manor)

The temperature in the room was heating up fast. Sasuke could barely keep up with Naruto's movements as he placed kiss after kiss on the shinobi's body. There was something feral about the way he moved, but also graceful. Sasuke wasn't complaining though as Naruto started kissing and nipping around his hips, every now and then coming up to kiss him gently.

Naruto started to slow down after a while and Sasuke remembered this is where his dreams usually end. Right after Naruto would say 'I love you.' Sasuke didn't want it to end just yet though, so he spoke for the first time since these dreams started.

"Naruto?" He said, causing the blonde to look at him. "Why did you come back?"

"For you, of course." He answered as he snuggled close to the raven haired boy. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I've just been thinking a lot during the day."

Once again, Sasuke was surrounded by a silence. But during this one, Naruto held him softly. Both seemed deep in thought.

"I wish I had proof that these dreams were real." Sasuke thought out loud. "I love you, dobe."

Sasuke sounded like himself right there, but with true feelings behind the words. Naruto smiled brightly and responded back with a strong 'I love you too, teme.' Naruto eyes flashed red for a second and Sasuke was fast asleep. It was time to leave, but not without Sasuke's proof. He knowingly left his jacket and a small note inside the pocket.

"I hope to get that back." Naruto smiled before disappearing.

(Hotel)

Naruto quietly and swiftly entered the hotel to learn that he was alone this time. Zael wasn't there and her scent was faint from this morning. He looked around for a clue on where she would be when he caught her scent just outside the window. He peeked through and saw her with Gaara. He smiled to himself as he closed the curtain and laid in his bed. It was almost an hour later when she finally came inside.

"So have fun?" Naruto asked with a sly smile. "With Gaara?"

"He just kept me company for the night." She replied, trying to suppress the blush.

Naruto got the full details out of her about her night with Gaara and in return she got the details concerning Sasuke. Both had left out a few parts. It didn't take long before Naruto stretched out and fell asleep, the sun had just barely started to come up. Zael just laid on her bed for the time being until the sun was shining brightly and there was a loud knock on their door. Naruto woke up and sat in plain view.

Zael didn't notice him as she answered the knock, opening the door to an out of breath Sasuke who happened to be holding a sleeveless orange jacket and could clearly see Naruto sitting on his bed. Zael stood there with wide eyes until Naruto simply stated that she let him in. She complied but was rather hesitant about it.

"The dreams…" Sasuke started. "They were real!"

Naruto nodded with a bright smile. Zael said nothing, only left the room quickly and quietly. Sasuke was planning to explode in anger but was quickly calmed down by Naruto promising to explain everything. And he did, with every last detail. Sasuke was silent for the longest time, trying to understand what he was just told.

"So you are the nine tails demon that was sealed in your body?" Sasuke asked slowly.

"In a way, yes."

"You're not human…"

Naruto didn't respond as he laid on his bed with his eyes closed. Sasuke was still thinking everything over. It seemed too good to be true, yet here he was. Naruto had even said that he didn't plan on seeing everyone else, just him. Thousands of ideas ran through Sasuke's mind to help him prove this wasn't a dream. A few good ideas, a few desperate ideas.

"One last question, dobe." Sasuke muttered as he sat on the edge of the bed. Naruto nodded. "The girl…?"

"Azaelia, I mean Zael?" Naruto opened his eyes. "She was the first person I met there and helped me out. She's become quite like a younger sister."

Sasuke's eyes gleamed for a second, though Naruto missed it. With the last questioned answered, and his thoughts finally settling down, he turned quickly and pounced on Naruto. The blonde froze for a second, not expecting the sudden change of mood as his hands were forced above his head. Out of reaction and instinct, Naruto's fangs lengthened and Sasuke smirked devilishly.

"I've had enough of you topping me, dobe." Sasuke stated strongly. "Now, it's my turn."

Naruto only growled, playfully, in response before Sasuke kissed him roughly. It would be hard to ignore his instincts as the need got stronger, but he would try. For now at least. Sasuke had taken a kunai and ripped Naruto's shirt right down the middle, kissing and nipping at every inch of skin he could reach. It wasn't long before Sasuke's shirt was ripped by Naruto's claws. With every touch, Naruto began to purr with enjoyment.

That caused Sasuke to moan quietly because with his purring, Naruto's body vibrated. The stronger areas of vibration was where Sasuke happened to be straddling him. The temperature began to heat up much more quickly as more clothes were torn and ripped from each other's body, small bite marks laced both males' chest and shoulders, all leading downward. Sasuke was the first to bite and suck lower than the pants line.

Naruto's hands had been tied to the headboard with the rope he had been wearing earlier. Sasuke was going to prove he was the dominate one as more and more hickeys appeared on Naruto's hips. After what seemed like forever, he gently nipped at the growing bulge under Naruto's boxers. That caused Naruto to moan/growl and for the purrs to become stronger. Sasuke did it a couple more times before removing the annoying piece of clothing.

Sasuke froze in awe for a second. Naruto was six inches and thick. Sasuke looked at Naruto to see a tantalizing smirk on his lips. It wasn't hesitation that stopped them for that minute, but it didn't stay like that for too long. Sasuke had smirked back before licking the member in front of him slowly and teasingly. Naruto growled in pleasure, but with a tone of urgency. The raven didn't respond to the growl and kept his slow pace. Even held down Naruto's hips so he wouldn't buck.

"Sasuke," Naruto growled low. "If you don't hurry, I'm gonna get you back." He bared his fangs as he growled again.

"What's wrong dobe?" Sasuke laughed darkly. "Can't handle it?"

Naruto growled loudly, but it quickly turned into a moan as Sasuke took his painful erection into his mouth. The blonde purred roughly as Sasuke slowly moved his head up and down, keeping a torturing pace. Naruto bucked his hips hard enough that Sasuke couldn't hold him down. Sasuke decided to quicken his pace. The purrs become stronger and rougher, the growls become more erotic and louder.

"Sas…" Naruto began to pant. "Sasuke, I'm…"

He didn't get a chance to finish as his seed erupted into Sasuke's mouth with a loud growling moan of the raven's name. Sasuke grinned triumphantly as he cleaned Naruto up. After he was done he gently, but assertively, kissed Naruto. Forcing his tongue into the blonde's mouth and making him taste himself. Naruto wrapped his arms around the raven's neck lovingly.

Sasuke blinked.

Wait…

When…

How…

Sasuke raised up and looked at the smiling boy. Naruto's eyes held a red tint and an air of strength. "My turn." was the last thing Sasuke heard before he was on the bottom.

(Outside the hotel)

Zael sighed as she finished placing soundproof barriers around their room. She had to wipe blood from her nose a few times before finishing.

'_He better appreciate this_.' She growled to herself. 'They could get into real trouble.'

She was quickly pulled from her thoughts as her ears and nose warned her of approaching people. Fast approaching people. Sasuke had ditched his parole officers and they were coming for him. She growled quietly, cussing out both Naruto and Sasuke for not thinking about that part. She didn't want to deal with people who were ready to get violent if need be.

She placed a barrier around herself, hiding from view, as four Anbu arrived. They approached the window slowly when she showed herself. Her eyes were glowing dark violet with fox-like pupils. Her fangs had grown and two silver and red furred tails had appeared.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She growled threateningly. "My friend won't be too happy if you interrupt him."

They looked at each other, then at her. They automatically considered her a threat and a hindrance so they moved to attack. Zael growled loudly, trying to warn them that she wouldn't play nice. They didn't listen and all attacked her. Not ten minutes later lay four mangled bodies while Zael licked blood off her hand. Her mouth was splotched with it and her fangs were dripping.

'_I have to hide the bodies_.' She thought as she settled down eventually. '_And I need to clean up_.'

It took her most of the night, but she did dispose of the four bodies. She mentally cussed out herself, Naruto, Sasuke and the Anbu as she tried cleaning the blood from her nails, fingers and mouth.

'_Naruto_,' She growled in her head. '_Even if you two can't walk tomorrow, I'm going to kill you_.'

She stayed in a tree that night, curled up on a branch. She still couldn't believe Naruto had done that so easily. But she had no say in the matter so Zael decided to support her friend the best she could. Zael whimpered slightly at the thought of having to fight for Naruto and Sasuke. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but she hated unnecessary bloodshed. Zael had an uneasy sleep that night.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 ( Demon Blood)

(Hotel Room)

Sasuke panted in pleasure as Naruto pounded into him over and over. As much as Sasuke hated being submissive, he had to admit that he liked the rough side Naruto was showing. When the blonde hit his sweet spot every time, the raven swore he could see bursts of stars in front of his eyes. Adding to the pleasure, Naruto jacked off Sasuke in time with his thrusts.

"Nar… Naruto." Sasuke moaned multiple times.

"Sas, Sasuke." Naruto would growl/moan back.

The both howled each other's name with they came for the last time that night. Naruto didn't pull out right away, but instead curled up against Sasuke. With their position now, it seemed like Sasuke was the dominate one. The raven was fine with this, even knowing he wasn't really. They were almost asleep when Naruto stirred uneasily.

"I smell blood." He stated quietly.

The realization hit them that Sasuke's parole officers hadn't shown up to find him and it was real early in the morning by now. Sasuke sat up slowly, the pain finally hitting him, when Naruto crawled out of bed and went to the window. He barely moved the curtain enough to see out of and whined quietly. Sasuke tried to stand up when Naruto was already beside him and pushing him back down.

"You're going to be really sore." He laughed quietly. "I wouldn't even try moving yet."

"What's wrong though?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"You don't have parole officers anymore." Naruto responded, talking normally. "And Azaelia took better care than I did."

Sasuke was confused until he looked around the room. The corners and cracks were glowing a faint purple and he now realized how loud both had been, yet no one had complained. Hearing both those sentences from Naruto he understood that Zael had protected them from being caught. He just smiled and laid down, pulling Naruto with him.

"Remind me to thank her later." He mumbled before falling asleep, snuggled against the blonde.

Naruto laughed and nodded, falling asleep as the sun just started to come up. He knew he would have to deal with a pissed off Zael later, but he didn't really care at the moment. He was happy, actually sore for once, but happy. He would deal with the consequences later, he just wanted to sleep, cuddled up to Sasuke, for now.

(Konoha)

The sun was up and Zael was too. She had been in the room for a short amount of time, ready to yell at and scold the two boys. She had changed her mind when she saw their peaceful sleeping forms and just left. Plus the strong smell of sex had begun to make her eyes water anyways. She took to walking beside the river while she waited for the commotion to stir, unfortunately it brought in someone she hadn't meant too.

"Zael?" She heard Gaara approach long before he called her name. "I need to talk to you."

Zael mentally panicked, though she smiled and looked calm. Remembering that he was in fact Kazekage, she realized of course he would be ask to help locate the missing ninjas. They stood there for a few minutes quietly, Zael yelling at herself in her mind, before someone spoke. It was Gaara.

"I'm not sure how to ask this," He started. "So I'll ask it bluntly. You're not human, are you?"

Her eyes grew wide in response as she just opened and closed her mouth a few times. She looked at him like a guilty child before looking away embarrassed. Zael did not know how to respond to that, she was caught off guard to the fact that _**he knew.**_

"No." She finally answered honestly.

"And Naruto's with you, somehow." Gaara stated that without emotion. He was talking as the Kazekage, not as Gaara. "And you're the reason the Konoha Anbu are missing."

"What the _**HELL**_?" Zael screamed. She had snapped. "I've taken every extra precaution there is. Even Naruto said no human should be able to see through all this!"

Gaara stood there, knowing full well she just admitted to everything. He didn't respond as she kept screaming and growling while tearing up a tree. When she finally calmed down, he cornered between the rubble. Blocking her from running with a sand wall he stood in front of her with an expressionless face. She looked at him like a cornered animal. Zael, honestly, didn't know how to react.

"Talking as the Kazekage, I should capture you and take you in right now." He stated. "But I want your story first. How much of what we know is a lie?"

Zael sighed and stood upright. She looked at him sadly as she took one step closer towards him. She closed her green colored eyes and reopened them as dark violet with the vertical pupils. She took another step and her fangs lengthened. One more step and her twin tails grew with her claws.

"I'm sorry, Gaara." She said. "I truly am, but I can't tell you anything. It is not my place."

Gaara blinked and raised the sand, ready to attack. Zael looked at him, but didn't changed her position. She turned around faster than a blink of an eye and disappeared into the shadows, literally. Gaara was left there, in slight awe of her abilities, but he knew they had to hunt her down. He decided to chase her himself, not wanting to start unnecessary violence. It was obvious she felt the same way since she ran instead of attacking him.

Zael ran into the forest, hoping to lose him if she could stay unorthodox in her escape. She remembered the other demons warning her that it was a dangerous thing to come here, but she had ignored them in order to help Naruto. She kept cussing herself out under her breathe as she ran zigzag through the forest. She felt like a total idiot as she understood that she just put Naruto and Sasuke in danger. When she couldn't sense, smell or hear Gaara, she stopped and started punching a tree in angry depression. She even began to cry ever so slightly.

"I am a total idiot." She said out loud. "I lost my control and endangered Naruto, Sasuke and myself."

(Hotel)

Naruto woke up first, feeling happier than he ever had. Sasuke woke up when the blonde had moved. They both smiled, Naruto with his known huge goofy smile, Sasuke with his signature smirk. Neither noticed, or possibly didn't care, that the room was only them.

"Morning dobe." Sasuke laughed as he sat up and stretched. He was sore as hell.

"Actually, it's afternoon teme." Naruto laughed.

Sasuke scowled and laid back down. He couldn't believe how sore his ass was or even his legs. Naruto chuckled at the raven's reaction as he stretched himself. He moved to the window and looked through the curtain. It seemed to be peaceful, but Naruto knew better than to doubt his instincts. Something was wrong, very wrong. The blonde closed his eyes, trying to locate Zael. Once he did and felt relieve. She was ok, so he stopped worrying.

Naruto went back to the bed, straddling Sasuke and began kissing the said ninja. Sasuke, who was sore and tired as hell, didn't protest as he kissed back. Naruto's instincts slowly started to kick in when he heard someone talking outside his window. Even Sasuke heard it faintly. So the blonde decided to listen for a little while.

(Outside the Hotel)

"Did you hear about the missing Anbu and the Hokage's order?" One person said. "Apparently there's a beast somewhere loose that had gotten to them."

"No way, I heard it was a bloodthirsty ninja that took them down." Another said. "I even heard the Kazekage asked special permission to hunt down this…_**thing**_ by himself."

"I heard that too. Something about he knows who it is and he wants to keep the blood shed down to a minimum."

(Back Inside)

Both males had frozen. Naruto had started growling quietly as his anger boiled up. Zael, his friend, his _**demonic sister **_was being hunted down by his friend. And that friend being **Gaara**. Even Sasuke felt a little angry. He began to feel some connection to her since she had helped him get with Naruto. Naruto rummaged around the drawers for some clothes, luckily finding enough for both ninjas.

"I know where she is. Care to join?" Naruto asked while he pulled on a pair of pants.

"Yeah, I owe it to her." Sasuke stated as they both finished getting dressed.

Naruto placed a barrier over himself, turning invisible to the world as the walked out of the room and began to run towards the forest. Sasuke could still somehow sense Naruto and followed behind him. Both silently hoped they found Zael before Gaara did. Neither one knew how late they happened to be.

(Forest)

The tree Zael had started punching was laying on the forest floor. She had calmed down slightly since she didn't sense anyone around her. She was breathing heavy as she licked at the small wounds on her knuckles. Unfortunately, she didn't know Gaara knew how to trick an animals senses and managed to get rather close to her without her knowing. She did sense the attack and managed to move out of the way in time.

"How did you…?" She hissed at him. She didn't want to fight, but she would if she had too.

"It's not that hard to get rid of scent." He stated. "And I know how to be quiet."

Zael decided to play rough and growled/hissed at him loudly, baring her fangs as they grew in length. She extended her claws and took a defensive stance. Gaara had brought sand up to his knees, ready to defend or strike. Neither one moved right away, but Zael was the first too. She quickly charge at him, not aiming to really hurt.

Gaara was impressed with her speed, seeing as she was faster than Rock Lee and maybe even Sasuke, but he blocked her kicks and punches. There was something telling him that she was holding back though. She kept coming and was able to stay close to him, which was more in her favor. She eventually landed a kick, hitting him in the ribs. He caught himself before stumbling to far back and landed a rather strong blow to her stomach.

'_He's serious_.' She whined to herself. '_I can't lose here, but I don't want to hurt him_.'

Gaara started attacking again before she had the chance to get up, he couldn't give her a chance to attack. She spent the next while dodging every attack she could, but she did get hit with a few. He right arm was bruised and the left side of her neck was bleeding. Gaara didn't have a scratch. Zael whined quietly from the bruises, but kept a straight face.

She growled loudly at him as she found an opening to get close again, unfortunately that's what Gaara was aiming for. Once she was close enough, he trapped her in the sand coffin. Only meaning to capture her, but wound up setting off her instincts. She closed her eyes and opened them to the dark violet once again. Except this time, there was a dangerous look in them. Her fangs grew and her claws extended, she easily forced her way out of the sand and landed on all fours, kind of like Kiba.

She had two tails again and actual fox ears on the top of her head. She was angry and Gaara had to deal with it. She was much more animalistic than he had thought she would be and it through him off guard momentarily. That was all she needed. She charged with much more speed than before, dashed right through the sand and knocked him over as she pounced and held him to the ground. With fangs bared and wild predatory eyes staring straight through him, Gaara for once felt trapped.

Zael had some control over her mind as she glared at him. She hesitated in attacking him, which he noticed and threw her into the air. She landed on her feet, but he trapped her with enormous amounts of sand. This time, he would make sure she was caught. Right when he was sure she couldn't move, Naruto and Sasuke appeared.

Naruto was in a form similar to Zael's and looked rather pissed off. Sasuke had his Sharingan activated. The blonde got her away from the sand without any trouble growling as she whimpered in pain. Both males stood over her protectively, glaring daggers at Gaara. The red head just stood there, acting as if seeing Naruto wasn't a big thing.

"Naruto Uzumaki." He stated, still speaking only as the Kazekage. "You're supposed to be dead."

"Yeah, well thanks to the Kyuubi, I'm not." He growled slightly.

Gaara honestly didn't know how to respond, but he didn't let any emotion show. Naruto kept growling darkly at him with Sasuke right beside him. The blonde took a step and was ready to attack when Zael grabbed his arm. She whined and whimpered, only being able to talk like an animal at the moment, but Naruto understood her. He glared at Gaara, but made no movements towards him. Zael, on the other hand, stood up and walked towards him.

The fox-like look had disappeared as she got closer. Except her eyes had remained violet.

"Gaara, all I was trying to do was protect Naruto and Sasuke." she started. "I didn't mean for the other things to happen. If you're going to act as Kazekage and take me in, I'll go quietly, but leave them alone. Or I'll fight to the death."

Gaara blinked once or twice as he looked at her. To prove she was serious, she extended her fangs and claws once again and growled/hissed loudly. The red head closed his eyes for a minute or two before uncrossing his arms. Sand wrapped around her wrists like handcuffs, but didn't go anywhere near the other two.

"I'll let them be." he said. "I will forget I even saw them, but you have to come back."

Zael nodded as the other two started to protest. She growled loudly, letting her energy flare up as high as possible. Naruto took a step back and looked away angrily. She had told him not to waste this time to get far away and to be with Sasuke. Quietly she followed after Gaara as they were left standing there. To make the time seem worse it had begun to rain hard.


	6. Chapter 6

Just wanted to warn the readers that there will be flashbacks in this one. They're needed to explain Naruto and Zael's relationship.

Chapter 6 (Those who know…)

(Forest)

Naruto punched a tree angrily, sending it flying off its roots. While him and Sasuke where still safe, Zael wasn't. If it wasn't for her near instant healing, he would've actually fought Gaara. But, no. She had to beg him to let her handle it, to keep him safe.

'_Stupid promise_.' He thought angrily as he growled. '_Stupid alpha male_.' Naruto looked at his right hand, a small x was cut into it. He thought back to their first meeting.

(Demon Plain, 3 years ago)

"Where, where am I?" Naruto groaned as a bright light hit him in the eyes.

'You're outside, silly." He heard a girl giggle.

Naruto opened his eyes to see a girl around his age with silver hair, looking at him upside down with soft bright green eyes. It took a minute for him to register that he was laying on the ground. The girl laughed at him before helping him up. She was about two inches shorter than he was and looked really childish, especially when she giggled.

He smiled back at her before she quickly grabbed his wrist. "Come with me!" She had yelled excitedly. She started to run with Naruto keeping up right behind her. He had woken up in a forest and she was showing him the way out. They exited the forest and came into a wide open meadow with a lot of other people.

"Where am I?" Naruto asked again as they stopped running.

"The Demon Plain." She said. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I'm being rude!" She extended with hand and smiled brightly. "My name is Azaelia Rose."

"Nice to meet you." He said and smiled back. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"You were the host of Kurama," A deeper, older male voice said.

Two men had walked up. Both looked like an older male version of Azaelia, but one had black and red hair. They appeared to be 27. Naruto thought to himself that they both looked more monotone than Sai, without the fake smile.

"Yeah, but how did you know that?" Naruto asked as he stood with his head up. They were not going to intimidate him.

"That's how you're here." Azaelia said, still smiling. "You must have had a good bond with him because he gave his demon life to you!"

"I'll let Azaelia explain." The one who she resembled the most said. "Just know and understand this well, _**I**_ am alpha."

They two men walked off, leaving Naruto with a bad taste in his mouth. There was something in their eyes that told him he wasn't going to like them. He instinctually growled in their direction, but stopped with a confused look. Azaelia laughed at him babyishly. They spent most of the day with her explaining how a demon's mind works differently. The sun was starting to set when Naruto was asking his last questions.

"What about sleep? Will that change?" He asked as they ate some raw deer.

"You, sorta." She answered after swallowing. "You will be tired during the day and feeling more active during the night, but you can keep your normal sleep pattern."

"Ok good." He laughed as he finished. "By the way, who were those two earlier?"

"My older brothers. The one with the same hair color as me is Cross, he's the Alpha Male." She said, a sad look on her face. "The other is Shade. They're unseparatable."

Naruto could see the pain in her eyes as she spoke of them, he didn't ask another question but he hugged her and smiled brightly. She laughed and smiled back. The two young demons had become quick friends.

(Hokage Office)

Zael stood still, not letting in fear or emotion show. Honestly she was just mimicking Gaara, but she felt it worked at the moment. Tsunade was going through papers, and she looked really ticked off, before looking at her. Gaara was still in the room, mainly because Tsunade didn't want a chance of her running away. The sand was still wrapped around her wrists.

"You must be strong." Tsunade said. "Killing four Anbu without anyone being alerted." Zael said nothing. "And everything the villagers know about you is a lie." She continued. Zael still wouldn't answer. "Any plea at all?"

"I serve no harm to the villagers." She said, holding her head up and closing her eyes. "But in my defense, the Anbu attacked me first. I actually would rather not fight."

"A likely statement." Tsunade scoffed. "Lord Kazekage, what are your thoughts?"

"Honestly, Lady Hokage, I do not believe she means to harm the villagers." He said. "And her last statement may be true as she chose to run from me until I had her cornered. Involving the Konoha Anbu, I have no thoughts."

"Put her in a cell for now." Tsunade ordered. "I'll be thinking of what to do." The woman seemed rather irritated. Zael, didn't blame her.

(Outside Konoha Prison)

Gaara stopped before going inside. The sand was still around Zael's wrists, but not near as tight as it had been. He looked at her seriously, but with some concern.

"Is it all a lie?" He asked, almost demanded. Now he was talking as Gaara, who looked hurt.

"If you're referring to the day at the hot springs," She started, her eyes softening. "No, the story is true. I did leave out a few parts though."

"What did you leave out?" The look in his eyes said he wasn't leaving without an answer. So Zael proceeded to tell him.

(Demon Plain, 6 months after meeting Naruto)

Zael watched the sun set as she waited for Naruto. He was the only one who really called her Azaelia, (except if you count Cross, but she never did since he rarely talked to her anyways) but she didn't mind. As the sky started turning bluish black, Naruto ran up.

"Sorry, I'm late." He panted. "I'm still having trouble with the whole hunting thing."

She laughed at him, Naruto soon joined her. They had become best friends, like siblings really. He was the only one who understood her when she told him that the pack didn't really like her. Naruto had even gotten mad at someone for calling her a 'mangy mutt'. She had tried to explain to him that technically she was.

Zael wasn't full fox. Her mother was from this pack, but her father had been a desert demon. And for that fact alone, most hated her because desert demons had a bloodlust they couldn't control. Being only half it was more like she had a split personality. If something provoked her, or forced her to fight, she was merciless and cruel. Naruto had seen her do this once, but it was because she was trying to protect him. Naruto didn't mind the other side of her.

But one day, the rest of the pack had enough of her. A fight had started between Naruto and the biggest fox. The fox's name was Ijime and he had decided to mess with Zael, which brought Naruto in to protect her because she kept refusing to fight him. The fight was to evenly matched, only because Naruto hadn't had enough control yet. But Ijime hated when someone who wasn't Cross or Shade could oppose him, so he decided to play dirty.

Zael saw this and blocked the attack from Naruto, taking most of a cheap shot in the stomach. There was a huge bloody mess and, before Naruto could do anything, she snapped. Her fangs and claws lengthened, her one silver tail split in two and red streaks appeared in her silver fur. This was also the first time her eyes had turned violet and full of bloodlust. Ijime tried to run away, but she chased him down, It was predator and prey, the prey didn't stand a chance. Ijime died screaming in pain.

When she came too, after seeing the blood, she freaked. Naruto was there beside her quickly. The thing was, she was more worried about him being hurt. The blonde was confused when he actually saw the wound on her stomach heal like nothing had happened. He was able to calm her down since he wasn't hurt at all. But Cross and Shade had had enough of her 'personality problems', as they called it. Cross said she was to be banished and branded.

The next morning, Cross himself cut and carved the rose like symbol into her back. Naruto, feeling horrible that he couldn't stop them, decided to banish himself and leave with her. He didn't like this pack anyways. Right after Cross was finished, they were sent away. Naruto was cussing him out most of the next day. Even now he wasn't happy with them.

(Outside the Prison)

"I never blamed Cross though." She finished. "He was protecting the pack."

Gaara hadn't said anything while she told they story. For one, she hadn't been lying and for two, he didn't blame her for leaving details out. He was thinking as himself, not as the Kazekage, and he felt bad for acting like that.

"I guess, this wasn't really your fault." He finally said. Zael looked at him with confusion. "And I'm sorry for reacting the way I did."

"Don't be." She said strongly and with a smile. "You felt hurt, you had every right to act the way you did."

Gaara looked at her carefully. Her smile was soft, kind and true. He didn't tell her, but he understood more than he let on and sympathized more than anyone, except probably Naruto. At least now, he truly believed the Anbu had attacked her first.

"Can I ask why you killed the Konoha Anbu though?" He asked after a few more minutes.

"Naruto was mating with Sasuke." She answered quietly. "If they would have disturbed him, he would have reacted worse. You never disturb a demon during mating. I warned them not too, even warned them if they attacked me it would be a bad thing."

"They were looking for Sasuke and you stood in the way." Gaara summarized. "Why didn't they think of that?"

"I don't know." She laughed quietly. 'I still need to scold them for not thinking of it though. I never meant for any of this to happen. I just wanted Naruto to be with his soul mate."

Gaara sighed, now facing a dilemma. As Kazekage, he needed to place her in the cell, but as Gaara, he wanted to help her. He closed his eyes and sat deep in thought for a while. Somehow, it was like he heard the voice of Shukaku once again. Just in a whisper. He opened his eyes when he reached his decision. The sand around her wrists receded back into his gourd.

"Zael, be careful." He said as he stood up. "And ask Naruto why I would understand the pain and give sympathy to a desert demon."

"You're letting me go?" She sat there, confused, but happy.

"Yes, as your friend," He begun. " I can not bear to see you hurt."

Zael smiled shyly and let a few tears fall before she stood up herself. She hugged Gaara quickly before whispering thank you and disappearing. He stood there for a few more seconds, feeling the relief of a now healed rib (courtesy of Zael) and started walking away.

(Forest)

Naruto had destroyed most of the trees in the area they were still standing in. Sasuke had just watched him. He had finally calmed down, but there was sadness in place. Sasuke approached him eventually, not really knowing how to comfort the blonde, but wanting to be beside him.

"What had she said earlier?" Sasuke asked after a while.

"She said 'I am the one to keep you alive and well, that was our promise." He started. "'Let me keep that promise.'" He took a ragged breath. "We made a deal a week before coming here. And so far, she's the only to have kept it."

"How's that?" The raven asked, a little curious.

(Demon Plain about two weeks ago)

Naruto had become stronger than he ever thought he could with the three years being here. He was an excellent hunter and one of the best fighters. He was happy staying with Zael, even told her all about his friends back home. But that was it. He missed Konoha, his friends and, most importantly, Sasuke.

At the moment, the blonde was waiting for Zael to return. She said she had a surprise for him, but something had to happen before he could know. Finally, after what felt like forever, she came back. She holding a scroll in her left hand as she approached him with one of the biggest smiles.

"Ok, what's going on?" He asked with loud curiosity.

"I'm taking you back to your home." She smiled and showed the scroll.

It had read that they both had permission from the Demon king to leave the Demon Plain a week from that date. And it signed by the Demon King himself.

"But I want to do something first." She started before he had time to register what he just read. 'It's called a Blood Promise. It won't hurt."

Naruto looked at her, compelling her to explain. A blood promise was shaking hands, after cutting a small x into both persons hand, and stating what each other would do even under risk of their own life. He agreed without a second thought. So they started by cutting an x into their palms and holding hands.

"I, Azaelia Rose, "She started first. "Promise to keep Naruto alive and well, that he will not be caught by the human leaders and that I will do anything to make sure he is able to be with his Sasuke."

"I, Naruto Uzumaki," He began. "Promise to protect Azaelia from harm's way and that she will stay happy while we are there."

A week later, they arrived.


	7. Chapter 7

Another note, the second flashback (where Zael explained her story to Gaara) Naruto was explaining that to Sasuke as well. R&R please!

Chapter 7 (Hide in plain Sight)

(Forest)

Naruto had finally calmed down completely after letting his anger destroy every tree he could find. Sasuke didn't know what to think after learning all that he did. He was afraid Zael was going to be killed for what she was. Jinchurikis were feared of in the beginning, now a real actual demon appears? Sasuke was sure that Tsunade wasn't going to stand for it. Would Zael really risk her life to keep Naruto and Sasuke a secret?

"I wonder if Gaara ever found out about her hybrid status…" Naruto mumbled.

"Oh, that's right." Sasuke said. "She's half desert demon. What does that mean?"

"The way she explained it, it means her father was a demon very similar to the Shukaku that was inside Gaara." Naruto said before he jolted his head up. He looked around and saw Zael walk into the clearing.

She looked perfectly fine now. No bruises, no cuts and no blood. Naruto could smell Gaara's scent on her, but it didn't seem like a confrontation. She was smiling at the two childishly as they just stared at her. She walked up to them happily and excitedly.

"What happened?" Naruto asked, in shock that she was there.

"Gaara let me go after talking with me for a bit." She smiled sadly. "He told me to ask you why he would sympathize with a desert demon."

Naruto smiled and laughed quietly before explaining Gaara to her. He had told her a little about him, but never mentioned the Jinchuriki part to her. When he was done, she smiled shyly and a blush crept across her nose. The nice atmosphere didn't last long though because Zael hit Naruto in the head.

"Didn't I tell you to get far away from here?" She growled at the blonde. "And yet, I find you in the same spot?"

Naruto and Sasuke just blinked once and stared at her as she went on about how they could've been caught since they hadn't left. She scolded them for a good ten minutes before calming down. There was a weird kind of silence for a few seconds when Naruto and Zael burst out laughing. Sasuke just muttered 'idiots' while shaking his head. They decided to hide this time, but in a different village.

They started walking in a random direction while talking about how they were going to hide. Zael mentioned disguises since she had learned how to change appearances. Naruto agreed right away, but Sasuke was uneasy about it. They kept talking until the sun started to set and Sasuke, being human, was starting to get a little tired. Naruto and Sasuke got some alone time while Zael went hunting.

"Sasuke?" Naruto said quietly after the raven had made a fire. "Do you know what 'mates' mean?"

"I can guess." He replied. "If it explains a feeling that no matter what I know I won't even feel the slightest bit of attraction to anyone else but you. That something tells me that if I lost you again I would actually die this time. Then yes, I do." He spoke in a very matter-of-factly tone.

Naruto said nothing, but he had a smile plastered on his face as he moved towards Sasuke and kissed him assertively. The blonde forced his tongue into the boy's mouth and they continued a fight for dominance until a cough interrupted them. Zael had returned with an already killed and sliced up bunch of meat. It was deer and she was kind enough to separate some and cook it for Sasuke. The meal went on with some talking, kind of like a normal campfire meal.

They continued walking the next day, not really knowing where they were headed, but getting there nonetheless. They still argued over how to hide their selves, but stayed happy during their travels. Except for one thing, Naruto had been getting antsy since he hadn't been with Sasuke for a while. Though he knew he couldn't with Zael there with him. He somehow managed luckily.

(A week later, Suna)

Gaara was back in his office working on a stack of papers. He recently hired a new secretary, who was due to arrive at any moment. A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.

"Lord Kazekage, Ms. Tsuki is here."

"Send her in." Gaara replied without looking up.

The door closed and reopened. Gaara looked up to see a young girl around the same age as him, maybe a little younger. She had light blue green eyes, neck length sandy red hair and fair colored skin. She wore a cream dress, with the left sleeve missing, that went down to her calves and had slits up to her hips. There were bandages on both of her legs and her left arm.

"Good morning Lord Kazekage." She said happily.

"Morning." He replied as he motioned for her to have a seat. "Have you and your friends found a place to stay?"

"Yes sir. Rainotori found a place so him and Ishi are moving our stuff in as we speak." She smiled brightly.

"That's good." He replied. "I don't really need your assistance today so go and help them. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes sir." She bowed politely. "I will be early in the morning."

She left quietly, bowing when she saw Temari and Kankuro. She and her friends had found a place in Suna to live and not to far from the Kazekage's office. Which was good considering her new job. When she got home, she was met with two boys. A blonde and a raven. Naruto and Sasuke had stayed inside all day.

"So how did it go?" Naruto asked the girl once the door closed.

Before answering, her looks started to change. Her skin darkened, her eyes turned more green and her hair was now sliver and red. Though it was still shorter. Ms. Tsuki was now Zael. She smiled brightly at the two, though there was a hint of sadness.

"Good." She said. "He didn't recognize me at all."

The outfit had stayed the same of course, but now it looked a little weird on someone with darker skin. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the scene in front of him while Sasuke remained indifferent. Zael growled at the blonde boy, but otherwise did nothing in retaliation. Naruto was no laying on the ground when Zael past him and headed to the stairs.

"How bad do you think she hurts?" Sasuke asked with some concern, Like Naruto, he treated her like a younger sister.

"Considering, I can smell faint arousal every time his name is mentioned," Naruto started. "Pretty bad. I mean, I did hear her crying a little last night."

"I didn't hear anything." Sasuke said as he stood up and walked over to Naruto.

"Demon senses, teme." Naruto retorted. "And you're not going to jump me because I can smell how you're feeling."

Sasuke didn't care as he pounced on him playfully. They had just started a tongue war when barriers began appearing all over the house. Naruto stopped kissing Sasuke for a minute.

"Thank you Azaelia!" He yelled before continuing their tongue war for dominance.

Sasuke was straddling Naruto after a few minutes, the blonde letting him win for now. The raven's shirt already missing as Naruto began nipping around his nipples. Sasuke was slowly grinding their hips together.

Zael opened the window in her room, crawled out and shut it again. She really didn't want to hear another night of their mating, especially since it cause her to have very bad dreams of Gaara. She made sure she looked like Tsuki before truly leaving the house and that the barriers were a hundred percent sound proof.

Naruto had pushed Sasuke off and ran up to their room, knowing that Sasuke was following. Both males were undressing on their way, so clothes lined the path like breadcrumbs. Sasuke pounced on Naruto once they were close enough to the bed so they would have a soft landing. Sasuke got a chance to be dominant in the beginning and if he didn't take it, he would be too sore to walk the next day.

He started of nipping harshly around Naruto's hips, which always caused him to growl and purr. Of course, if the raven didn't hurry, Naruto's instincts would kick in and they were hard to ignore. So it wasn't long before the blonde was moaning as well as growling and purring. Sasuke had a new plan today, so he stopped when Naruto was so close. Which cause the demon male to growl threateningly.

Sasuke was determined to be on top this time and proved it as he thrust his hips hard and entered Naruto. Sasuke wouldn't let the blonde switch places and he actually had tried. Even a couple days dealing with demonic strength earns you something. Naruto was growling quietly.

"I'm not.. made of glass…_**teme**_… go _HARDER_." Naruto practically demanded. And Sasuke complied very willingly.

(Around Suna)

Zael had decided just to walk around for a while, knowing it probably would be best to not go back until late. When they were worn out and asleep. She never tried to stop them, she didn't want to deal with a whiny (and horny) Naruto, but she was getting sick of it as an every other day thing. And they hadn't been in Suna for very long! She slowed her pace a bit as she could smell Kankuro approach her.

"Tsuki, you don't mind coming to Gaara's office, do you?" The painted puppet master asked her. "He says he would like to see you if your free."

"Yeah, I'll be right there." She smiled.

Kankuro nodded and continued on his way as Zael turned around and headed back towards the Kazekage's office. She found it funny that Kankuro never called Gaara by his title, or at least that she knew of. Temari did, on the other hand. She knew they both had respect for him…maybe it was a brother thing. Shaking her head of her thoughts she entered the building and walked towards the office.

'_I hope I didn't do anything wrong_,' She thought before walking. '_I just started this job_.' She shook her head one more time and knocked on the door. She heard him say "come in" and walked in after gulping. His scent seemed normal enough, maybe she was over thinking all of this.

Gaara was sitting in his chair looking out the window in deep thought. He was wearing a simple black uniform, close resembling his older brothers. The Kazekage robe was hanging on the wall to his left as was the hat. Zael admitted she really like the look on his face when he was thinking.

"You…you wanted to see me, Lord Kazekage." She said quietly.

"Yes," He said before looking at her. "How long did you think you could hide?" His voice was serious and low.

"Excuse me, sir?" She was confused in true honesty.

"I know you don't look like yourself." He started, "But I know it's you Zael."

She stood there, lost for words. She tilted her head in curiosity and her looks slowly changed back to her true form. That was the second time he had seen through her. How could he always tell? Gaara hid a faint smile behind folded hands as she finally looked like herself.

"Can I hide nothing from you?" She asked seriously. Gaara noted she had even changed her voice a bit.

"You did one thing that let me know." He replied just as serious. "Your smile. If you would've changed that even just a little, I wouldn't have known."

She couldn't help but giggle as a small blush shown across her nose. Gaara gave a faint smile in response.

"Good eyes, Lord Kazekage." She said cheerfully. "I'm honestly glad you did notice."

Zael sat down in the chair across from as they sat there in silence. Gaara was back to looking out the window when he noticed Zael had laid her head down with her eyes closed. He moved slightly and she was up and alert, looking at him earnestly.

"You seem rather tired Zael." He said with concern.

"Exhausted only." She smiled. "I don't sleep much period. Part of being half a desert demon." She laughed quietly and kept smiling. "It's just…never mind."

"It has to do with Naruto and Sasuke?" He asked. She only nodded in response. He understood it was something she'd rather not talk about. "You're welcome to stay here and rest if you'd like."

"I'd enjoy that." She said quietly and closed her eyes again.

She wasn't asleep really and the silence was more comforting than awkward. But after a while, Gaara realized her resting right there probably wasn't a good idea, so he let her into his room, telling her to let him know if she needed anything. Her face didn't turn beet red until after he had left. She looked around his room, seeing how it was the Kazekage's, it was rather spacious. Instead of curling up on the bed, which looked and smelled like it had rarely been used, she curled up in the area that held Gaara's scent the strongest. It was a seat beside a window that looked out into the desert and shown an oasis in the distance. She smiled again as her blush died down a bit before closing her eyes one more time.

(Back at the house)

Both men were laying on the bed tired and exhausted after a good while. Their bodies were coated in sweat and semen as the sheets were just as soiled as they could be. Naruto usually joked that this was good endurance training for Sasuke since he was dealing with a demon. Sasuke usually hit him after muttering 'dobe'. This had become normal for them since they had arrived in Suna.

Sasuke was already asleep, sleeping with Naruto really drained his energy. But the blonde didn't go to sleep just yet, the sun was starting to set and Zael wasn't back yet. He closed his eyes and tracked her down. Once he found her, he laughed and cuddled tight against Sasuke, falling asleep within minutes. Naruto fell asleep with a huge smile, knowing that finally all three of them were happy.

What he didn't know is that someone had tricked both his and Zael's senses and was waiting for the right time to end that happiness they had finally found. Actually, in all, in was four people. None of them happy and all in a violent mood.


	8. Chapter 8

This chapter is going to be mainly Zael. There will be one or two flashbacks.

Chapter 8 (No use crying over spilt blood)

Zael had, for once, actually fallen asleep. Whether it was the fact that she felt safe from danger or if was Gaara's scent, it was hard to tell. Though it could've been both. But she was sound asleep when the Kazekage came to check on her and she was shivering lightly. Gaara just pulled the rarely used blanket of his bed and wrapped it around her.

Even though it was late, and the fact that at the moment he had nothing else to do, Gaara decided to take a shower. Luckily, he had his own private hot spring in the room next to his. (Which was put there by the 2nd Kazekage) He would rather not take another public bath again, but that didn't mean he regretted his first. He grabbed a towel and some clothes and closed the door behind him.

Zael was dreaming as she slept. It wasn't a nightmare or another dream about Gaara, no this one was more of a memory. About the first time, young Zael had met her father.

(Demon Plain, Zael is 5)

Azaelia Rose had just turned five years old. Her mother, Yurian'na, couldn't be more proud of her little girl. The only thing that saddened her was that Azaelia would never know her father, but that didn't stop the mother from telling her all about him. The little girl loved all the stories of when her mother had left the pack and met this man with the nickname Tsuki no Suna.

Azaelia knew she wouldn't get to meet him and she knew that she was a half breed. Or 'mutt' as the older kids called her. The younger kids wouldn't come near her and the adults couldn't have cared less about her. So when she chooses to venture from the meadow and into the forest, no one ever notices. She liked the quiet time with the trees.

But one day, she ventured inside a little too far and disturbed a tiger demon from its meal. Even more unfortunate, it was in a beast form and therefore had no real conscience. Azaelia panicked as it looked at her and ran deeper in the forest. The thing could cover much more distance than her, due to its size, and caught up with her quickly. The silver haired girl was scared to death as she cried out for help.

She knew no one would come, even if they heard her, so she closed her eyes and waited for the tiger to kill. It never happened and she didn't hear growling anymore. When she opened her eyes, the beast was thrown far from her and dead. Standing in front of her was a man. A stranger, she should've thought, but that's not how she felt.

He was tall compared to her, but actually shorter than most adult men. His hair was medium length, a color of sandy red and tied in a loose ponytail. His skin was slightly tanned, but flawless, his eyes were a dark violet with tanuki rings around them and his pupils were shaped as thin crosses. This man was a desert demon. And he had saved young Azaelia.

"Why did you save me mister?" She asked while wiping tears from her face.

"Why should a beast as simple minded as that be allowed to kill such an innocent child?" He replied quietly. His voice was deep, yet real smooth. "If I am correct, your name is Azaelia."

"Yes, sir." She replied and bowed after standing up. "But how did you know?"

He chucked, but didn't answer. Instead moon white sand picked up the young child until she was eye level with him. She didn't need any other explanations. She knew who he was and a smile crossed her lips. Jumping from the sand, she hugged the man tightly.

(Present)

Zael woke up finally, smiling. But the smile quickly turned to confusion when she heard gentle moving water. She could faintly catch Gaara's scent and it dawned on her what was going on. She blushed brightly, still just across her nose, now that she felt nervous. She started inwardly panicking about what to do and it only got worse when the saw the door starting to open.

(Their House)

Naruto was awake and attempting to cook. He didn't know much about what he was doing, except what he had seen Zael do. Sasuke was still asleep and would probably stay that way for a while longer. Naruto kept thinking about last night until the food had burned. The blonde sighed in defeat as he threw away the charcoal meat. He just ate some leftover raw meat before heading back up the stairs.

Even though he was still sleepy, he could sense something was wrong. Quickly he ran to his room and just in time. Someone crashed through the window, and even the barrier. Naruto grabbed Sasuke out of the bed as the person landed in his spot. Naruto growled and snarled threateningly at the person who, he could tell, wasn't human.

And he didn't look it either. His hair was short, spiky and jet black, black fox ears adorned the top. His eyes were glowing yellow with vertical slits of pupils and he had a long swishing tail. His fangs and claws were extended as he snarled and snapped his jaws at the two males. Naruto responded in the same way.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan as he stared at the demon. He was sore as hell, but now was not a good time to show it. The raven couldn't sense Zael in the house or even outside the house. Of course, if she was here, she would've already been in the room. Well, maybe not, seeing as both men were still undressed.

"What the hell do you want?" Naruto snarled fiercely.

The demon didn't answer but moved to attack them. Naruto shoved Sasuke out of the room as he fought back. Sasuke didn't know how to react at first. Naruto had placed a barrier himself over the door, keeping the raven out. So he decided to go get help just in case. Running to the living room, he found a pair of pants and a special pill Zael had created that changed his and Naruto's appearances.

Sasuke's hair flattened and turned a silver white, his eyes got lightened to cool blue grey and his skin darkened to about Zael's skin tone. He didn't look like Sasuke, but was Rainotori now. He hurried out of the house and headed to the first place he thought he could find her. The Kazekage Mansion. He ran into Kankuro, a little out of breathe, when he asked to if Tsuki was there. Luckily she still was, but it would be a little difficult to get her. She was still in Gaara's room.

"Is there any way you can get her?" Sasuke asked, his voice a little higher than usual. "Please." The Uchiha hated begging, but if it got Zael to come with him then he would suck up his pride and do so.

"I'll try," Kankuro said as he let the boy in.

They both headed to the Kazekage's office, since his room was inside. Kankuro knocked twice, after no answer, he just walked in. The office was empty and the door to his room was shut. Kankuro quietly walked over to the door.

(Inside Gaara's room)

Zael was still panicking as she buried her face in the blanket Gaara placed on her. This could not be happening to her. It was true she could act normal while public bathing, but the person was covered the entire time. And that one time, she wasn't completely head over heels for the red head. Now, that she was, she didn't how she would react.

"You're awake." She heard Gaara say and she jumped.

She looked at him for a second before sighing in relief. He was dressed, completely. She slumped against the wall as she calmed herself down.

"Are you ok, Zael?" He asked concernedly while approaching her.

"Ye…yeah." she said and smiled meekly. "Just gave myself a fright." She laughed childishly as she stood up and stretched. "I can't believe I actually slept all night."

"You seemed like you really needed it." Gaara replied as he picked up the blanket. "I'm glad you feel better."

"Thanks." She smiled shyly now as she began to blush. "I really appreciate you letting me stay here. I should get going now."

She turned to leave and even began changing back into 'Tsuki'. But Gaara grabbed her wrist, which shocked her and reversed the transformation. She looked back at him, shyness in her eyes. Gaara didn't know what to do at this point and looked down for a second then looked her in the eyes. Zael looked away, her blush darkening. She moved a little closer to him before looking back at him.

Zael, I," Gaara started, hesitant in finding what he wanted to say.

A knock interrupted their thoughts. And Kankuro's voice.

"Gaara? Is Tsuki still there?" He said through the door. "Her friend, Rainotori is here. He said it's important she come home.

A look of worry flashed across her face for a minute, but then a look of hesitation. She was worried about her friends, but she didn't want to leave at the moment. Gaara held the same look. What made up Zael's mind was the scent Sasuke, or Rainotori, was giving off. She looked down sadly but gave Gaara a kiss on the cheek before turning into 'Tsuki.'

"I'll be here early in the morning," She smiled gently. "Lord Kazekage."

Gaara nodded and let go of her wrist. She walked towards the door and left, Kankuro hung back as she and 'Rainotori' ran out the office quickly. The older sand ninja looked at his brother then towards the way they had left. No words were said, but Kankuro understood what was going on and even silently promising not to say a word.

(Back at the House)

Zael and Sasuke ran inside the house, only to see the fight had made it to the living room. Zael inwardly freaked out to see that Naruto had had no time to get dress, but kept her eyes on the demon. Violet eyes that had slim cross pupils. She was quickly becoming angry as her form became more animalistic. Naruto noticed this and jumped out of the way when she pounced at the demon.

Snarls and growls became louder and more violent. Claws sliced at skin and quickly became coated in blood. The intruder even went so far as to bite and rip at her left arm. As the fight went on, Naruto tried to understand why Zael had gotten angry so quickly. Both males were stumped as the fight became much more bloody and messy. Zael managed to rip the intruders right arm off, but before she could end the fight, he took off running.

Zael snarled fiercely in anger as she decided not to chase him down. She looked around, her eyes still full of bloodlust and her skin coated in dry blood while bleeding slightly from the now healing wound on her left arm. Eventually, she calmed down enough to look more human like, though her eyes were still violet. She also refused to look at Naruto until had pants on.

"That was the fastest I've ever seen you get mad." Naruto said after pulling a pair that was in the living room. "Any reason why?"

"I knew him." She said, still kind of snarling. "He was extremely loyal to my brother."

Naruto instinctually snarled and growled at the statement while Sasuke looked a little confused. There was a strong awkward silence for the longest time before the raven spoke up. He was hesitant though, since he understood the strained relationship with an older brother.

"So how does that relate to you, or us?" He asked quietly as she roughly scrubbed her hands in the sink.

"I'm trying to think." She said and decided to tell them more about how strained her relationship with Cross really was.

(Demon Plain, Azaelia is around 11)

Young Azaelia was playing in the meadow happily, chasing around the butterflies like a child would. She was alone, of course, but she didn't mind. She just got happier when Cross and Shade were actually approaching her. Neither looked upset, but they didn't look happy either. She ran up to her brothers excitedly.

"Good Morning!" She said as they met up with each other.

"Morning," Cross responded without emotion while Shade remained silent. "Azaelia, have you been in the forest lately for any reason?"

"Hunting." She answered quickly. '_And to see my father_.' She added to herself in thought.

"Hmmm, well be careful. We caught wind of other species in there." He said and left.

Azaelia watched him with in slight confusion. It increased when she saw Cross whisper something in Shade's ear. But she shrugged it off and proceeded to chase the butterflies again when a small stream of sand cut across her path. She smiled and ran back into the forest to, once again, meet her father, who was waiting for her deep in the brush.

He smiled when he saw her and knelt down to hug her. Azaelia had never seen her father in a violent mood, so she stopped believing the stories of how desert demons were the most bloodthirsty. Tsuki no Suna was a kind and caring person towards her and playful, much like a child. He began teaching her how to fight so she could better defend herself against demons that meant to hurt her. Today was a day, she'd have to put what she learned and believed to a test.

A younger male fox, though still a good bit older than Azaelia, had been watching them and alerted the alpha (who was Cross's father at the time) plus Cross and Shade. They jumped in on the scene quickly and began to fight with Tsuki no Suna. Azaelia was pushed out of the way as the fight became worse and her father finally shown a violent side. Claws and fangs longer and sharper than a fox's, two long raccoon like tails whipped around fiercely and his eyes were now full of bloodlust.

The fight had gotten messy quickly as Azaelia watched from behind a tree. The blood didn't scare the young child, it was the fact her brothers were the ones doing this. In fact, Cross was dealing most of the injuries to her father. No one noticed, but her eyes started to look fiercer and more predatory. No one noticed until she jumped in and attacked Cross's friend for trying to attack Tsuki no Suna from behind. Azaelia managed to seriously injure him somehow.

The fight ceased for a short while as everyone looked at the young girl who resembled the desert demon a little. Her eyes were still green, her hair only silver and only one tail whipped around. But her fangs and claws were longer than they should be, her eyes were full of bloodlust and the pupils were thin crosses instead of just vertical slits.

Cross stood in front and stared her down, slowly building an black energy sphere behind his back. With the glare from him, Azaelia began to calm down quickly. Even her father had started to calm down slowly. When she was completely calm and no longer seemed like a threat, Cross shot the black sphere at her, aiming to kill the little girl. Tsuki no Suna pulled her behind him and took the blow instead. Even for a powerful demon, it ripped and poisoned his internal organs.

The older foxes left Azaelia there with her dying father. The young demoness in complete shock after the scene. Her emotions stirred until she let out a loud angry and hurt cry. Tsuki no Suna tried to comfort her as best he could.

She saw the life leave him and, when a desert demon dies, turn to sand and blow away with the wind. She stayed there until night had come and stayed half way through it. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to blame Cross. The attack wasn't meant for her father, it was meant for her. He was trying to get rid of a threat to the pack. She didn't blame him, but now she would always be on her guard. Around Cross, Shade and those who were loyal to them.

(Present, House)

Sasuke and Naruto just blinked after the story. Sasuke didn't understand why she couldn't really hate her brother after everything that happened. Naruto now understood her change in personality when she became angry. But both were completely speechless though. Zael was cleaning up the mess left over from the fight. She needed to change her clothes badly.

"Well, now I know why he's such a jackass." Naruto said after a while.

"Why can't you blame or hate the guy?" Sasuke asked almost angrily. "He's ruined your life!"

Zael didn't answer as she continued to clean up the mess. She looked up to the ceiling, though it was more towards the sky, and let tears flow, yet there was a smile on her face.

"Ruined?" She choked a bit. "I have friends like you two and the knowledge that my father loved me. And Cross was doing what was right to protect the others, how can I get mad at a decision like that?"

Neither answered as she walked up the stairs to her room. After destroying the outfit that reeked of blood and making sure all her wounds had healed up, she pulled on a nightgown then crawled into her bed. She wasn't going to fall asleep, she had to stay awake and alert, but she also had to act towards Gaara like nothing had happened. Her mind was swimming around a lot of thoughts as she kept her ears and eyes open.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 (Fox rage)

A week had past since the attack and nothing else had happened so far, but they stayed on guard. Zael continued her work as Gaara's secretary, Tsuki, but spent time with him as herself later. Naruto and Sasuke would walked around the village as Rainotori and Ishi, but would stay themselves at their house. The window was repaired and Zael placed stronger barriers around the place.

Gaara could tell something was wrong with Zael, but seeing as how she was acting like there wasn't anything, he never asked her. Though he hoped she would confide in him. Until, or if, she did, he enjoyed their quiet evenings together. Even Naruto had told her she should probably tell him since he is the Kazekage, but she would shake her head. The blonde actually started badgering her about it and Sasuke mentioned it once or twice. She finally agreed to talk to him about the attack.

(Gaara's office)

Zael was working with sorting the papers he had to sign when she decided to talk to him. It also happened that no one else was in the building when she made her decision. She looked at him, took a deep breath and faced him.

"Lord Kazekage?" She said quietly, he looked up at her quickly. "I want, well need, to talk to you." She was nervous and it showed very well.

"Zael, I told you not be so formal." He said as she sat down. "What's bothering you?"

It took her a while on how to explain. Eventually she told him everything on what happened the day Sasuke had come to get her. She talked about the fight, how easily she got angry after seeing the demon and explained the same story she had told Naruto and Sasuke. When she was done there was a silence that made her even more nervous.

"No more attempts have been made yet?" He asked after a bit. She nodded. "Is this what's been bothering you?"

"Yes, I was kind of scared to talk to you about it." Zael admitted. "Only because I was afraid you'd be put in danger if you knew."

Gaara blinked as he looked at her. He stood up and walked over to her with a faint smile. Holding out his hand to her, he helped her up. They were silent for the longest time, but that was how they responded best to each other. Zael was smiling shyly as they just stood there.

Luckily Zael was still on guard though. Her eyes grew wide as she moved around Gaara quickly and a sword pierced the top of her left shoulder that would've went through the red head's heart if she hadn't had sensed it. Thanks to her nose, she recognized the scent on the sword and knew the person responsible had already fled. She sat on the ground and pulled (almost ripped) the sword out of her shoulder, growling in pain as she did so.

"Zael," Gaara knelt down beside her. "Will you be ok?"

"I'll be fine." She winced as the wound started to heal. "What about you? The blade didn't touch you, did it?"

Gaara shook his head as he stood up and looking around for a cloth to clean the blood up with. He found one in his desk drawer then started to gently scrub at her shoulder. The silence continued, but they actually said a lot. Zael felt a little useless that she didn't sense the demon before the sword came through the window and it showed on her face. She wouldn't look Gaara in the eye because she felt so ashamed.

"Stand up." He ordered. It was the first time he ordered her to do something. He usually asked her.

She complied now that the blood was cleaned up and her shoulder looked like it was never touched. She still didn't look at him, instead looked at the floor. So Gaara forced her to look at him with sand. When they were looking eye to eye, he kissed her gently. She calmed down and felt better instantly.

(House)

Naruto and Sasuke were looking around the place. Since Zael had left, they felt a little uneasy. Especially when Naruto kept swearing he could smell another demon nearby. Sasuke looked all over the first floor of the house while Naruto took upstairs. The scent was familiar, but he couldn't place it no matter how hard he thought about it. The blonde wound up giving himself a headache.

Sasuke searched all over the first floor, but found nothing except dirty dishes. Even though he felt uneasy, he thought Naruto was losing it with his demon senses. He didn't even to pretend to understand everything about the two demons, but he was beginning to think that their senses weren't as strong as they had said. The raven shook his head now that he was sure they were just paranoid. Hopefully, Naruto was calmed down by now as he started heading up the stairs.

As he did, there was a sense of foreboding and it got worse with each step. Sasuke tried to shake the feeling off until he reached the top as saw the reason for their paranoia. Another demon was in their house and this one felt stronger, much stronger. The raven took a quick look around, Naruto wasn't in sight. Sasuke took a defensive position and activated his Sharingan. Too bad he didn't have his sword.

The demon was male, once again, and happened to be looking at Sasuke like the raven was inferior. His hair was pure silver and neck length, his eyes were bright green and fox-like. His skin was about fair as anybody's and had a few good sized scars on his arms. Sasuke recognized the description, he looked like an older male version of Zael. Cross was in his house. Sasuke was surprised at how many similarities he could find between the two just by looking at him.

Even their choice of outfits were similar. He wore a dark red skin tight shirt, the right sleeve longer than his arm and the left sleeve missing, matching colored shorts with bandages on both legs. And of course, he was barefoot. The only real difference in the two he could find (beside the fact they were different genders) was the look in their eyes. Zael had a strong, yet soft eyes. Cross' eyes made it seem like he thought everyone was trash. (which he probably did)

"So," He spoke, his voice deep. "You're Sasuke Uchiha. I've heard a lot about you, _**human**_." He hissed the last word.

Sasuke glared the demon down, but didn't answer.

"Where's the annoying idiot she's usually with?" He growled. "Better yet, where's the mutt?"

Sasuke growled at the term he used, but didn't move or respond.

"If I don't find her soon, I'm going to get irritated." He smiled wickedly. "And you think she's bad when she angry?"

"Hypocrite!" Sasuke cried and rushed him.

The raven actually didn't expect to hit him, in fact he anticipated that Cross would catch his hand. Cross moved like he was going to break Sasuke's arm, but before he could Naruto clawed down his back. The older fox growled, let go of Sasuke and faced the blonde male. Naruto looked about as angry as he could be.

"You know, sending your henchmen after us was a stupid idea." Naruto snarled. "How's the idiot's right arm?"

Cross growled, but did nothing else. He looked at Naruto with pure hatred, even shot Sasuke a death glare. Both said men were ready to fight as Naruto claws and fangs extended and Sasuke was about ready to use the Chidori. Cross made the first move as he went to attack Sasuke, who was anticipating the move. He dodged the move and use his Fireball jutsu. Luckily the barriers were inside and outside so harm was down to the house.

Cross acted like the fire did nothing as he turned around and proceeded to attack again. Naruto jumped between them and hit Cross in the chest with a red colored Rasengan. The fox hissed as he stood up after the attack. Sasuke felt like he wasn't even trying in the fight. Naruto felt the same way. Especially when he stood up with a rather annoying smirk.

"So you did manage to get stronger." He chuckled darkly. "What about Azaelia? And is she still suffering from her personality problems?"

Naruto snarled angrily. He had been toying with them and was still putting down Zael. Sasuke was gritting his teeth as he growled a bit as well. Cross just laughed at the two.

"What the fuck do you want anyway?" Sasuke spat at him.

"Well, actually I came to visit my baby sister." He smiled. Both men growled because it mocked Zael's. "I want to talk to her."

"Yeah, right!" Naruto snapped. "Your 'talking' usually ends up with the decision she needs to die. There's no way I'm going to let you do that."

Before Naruto could blink, Cross was right in front of him with fangs bared.

"You really think you can stop me?" He whispered venomously. "You're not the only one who's gotten stronger over the few years. Azaelia isn't going to survive much longer and I'm thinking of taking the used-to-be host of Shukaku with her. I really hate desert demons." He growled and laughed before disappearing.

Naruto and Sasuke didn't even stop to think. They ran downstairs, stopping only to grab their transformation pills, and ran out the door. Naruto's pill changed his hair to straight and red, like his mothers, his blue eyes became darker and the whiskers disappeared. He looked more like his mother now.

The two boys ran to the Kazekage mansion to warn both Zael and Gaara. As strong as they both were, Naruto was afraid even they couldn't do much against Cross.

'_Stupid alpha_.' Naruto thought to himself angrily. '_What do you really have against Azaelia_?'

(Kazekage Mansion)

Zael had calmed down now as she sat on the window seat while Gaara finished signing more papers. She had already sorted everything so after she calmed down, he asked her to rest. So she curled up on the window seat again and waited for Gaara to finished. When she heard the doorknob turn, she smiled brightly. Even more so when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"You feeling ok?" He asked her with concern.

"Yeah, much better now." She giggled as he sat beside her. "I seem to always feel calmer around you."

Gaara faintly smiled himself this time. He knew he had no experience in relationships like this and had even gone to his brother and sister for help. They told him the same thing, do what feels right. And because of that, he hadn't felt happier. Neither had Zael. They sat there, in a usual silence, for the longest time. It was what they did the most.

"Gaara," Zael unexpectedly whispered, sounding scared. "We need to move, now."

He didn't doubt her judgment and moved seconds before a sword stabbed the seat. It would've gone through both of them. Zael growled loudly since the owner of the sword had stayed this time. But her growl was kind of empty as she didn't change. The person was a female demon this time with long bleach blonde hair and stunning amber colored eyes. She was a good deal taller, skinnier and bustier than Zael was.

Her outfit was rather revealing as well. A pink midriff with a low v neck and no sleeves, dark blue jean shorts that barely covered her butt and ,surprisingly, she wore 4 inch high heeled shoes. Her skin was fair and flawless, except for a dark reddish bruise on the lower part of her neck. Zael knew her well, but didn't feel any real reason to fight just yet.

"What do you want, Kyma?" Zael asked and bared her fangs, she stood in front of Gaara rather protectively.

"I was told to keep you here." She smiled. Her voice was high and rich. "You're expecting company."

Zael looked confused for a second as she looked at the girl. Her eyes stayed on the red mark that was on Kyma until her eyes went wide. She gently took Gaara's hand.

"Do me a favor and get out of here, please." Zael practically begged.

Before Gaara could answer, there was a sword right in front of Zael's face.

"Uh huh, mutt." Kyma laughed. "He has to stay here with you. Cross would be oh so mad if he didn't get to meet his little sister's potential mate."

Zael growled and hissed loudly, extending her claws. She swiped at the sword, actually cutting it in half. Her eyes were violet, but that was all that happened. She still would rather avoid a fight if she could. Especially as nervous as she was to see her older brother once again. She was feeling anxious about why Cross would want to meet Gaara. She quietly whimpered at the thought.

Kyma sat on his bed while she waited as they stayed standing near the window seat. Zael didn't know what to think, let alone do, when it came to Cross. Her thoughts stayed jumbled until the door swung open wide. She jumped in response, but realized it was Naruto and Sasuke, in their hidden styles. Before anyone could do anything they were pushed in roughly as Cross entered the room. Shade was right behind him. Naruto snarled at the two, Sasuke growling quietly. Zael had frozen from seeing her brother, she whimpered just loud enough for Gaara to hear.

"Well, there you are." He said in a sarcastic style of excitement. "I've been looking for you for about three months now."

"Why?" Zael responded quietly.

"Your attention." He said, "But it seems I can only get it when your protective, so I asked a few people to attack your friends. At least I finally got it."

Everyone was quiet, Zael looked scared while Naruto looked pissed off, Sasuke seemed rather annoyed and Gaara was calm, but probably just as angry. Shade had his eyes closed as he stood near directly behind Cross and Kyma was smiling as she sat kind of erotically on the bed.

"So the red head is who you're set on?" Crossed asked, unamused. "Figures. He smells just as revolting as Tsuki no Suna."

Zael seemed to wake from a dream after that as she growled and hissed with a feral attitude at him. The three older demons looked at her in some surprise. That was the first time she had ever done that. And her fangs had lengthened.

"I don't care what you say or do to me," She snarled fiercely. 'But you better leave my friends alone."

Shade opened his eyes, which were bright green, and moved to attack Naruto and Sasuke. Zael countered and actually threw him out of the room with a loud aggressive hiss. She even blocked Kyma from attacking Gaara from behind, threw her out too and slammed the door shut. She glared at Cross a bit.

"And I mean that." She spat.

"Hmm, you've gotten stronger too." Cross said, looking unaffected by all that just happened. He quickly appeared right in front of her. "Now what makes you think you can stand against me this time?"


	10. Chapter 10

This is chapter isn't going to be much. I'm just going to start each fight.

Chapter 10 (Broken Down)

Hmm, you've gotten stronger too." Cross said, looking unaffected by all that just happened. He quickly appeared right in front of her. "Now what makes you think you can stand against me this time?"

Zael froze again as she looked him right in the eyes. Her train of thought went and crashed as she forgot how to respond. Cross smiled maliciously as he slammed his fist into her stomach. She was thrown about five feet, but was already coughing up blood. Before the others could do anything, the other three appeared out of nowhere and pulled the out of the room. This was to be a one on one fight.

(Outside the Village)

Somehow they were pulled outside of the village. Naruto was in a rage as he now was about as animalistic as Zael had been. Sasuke had a sword drawn (he stole it from the Kyma) and his Sharingan activated. Gaara stood there, with no emotion, staring down the three demons.

"What should we do to them, Shade?" She asked, trying to act cute.

"Do whatever." He said and popped his knuckles. "But I want the blonde."

"Oooo, ok then." She giggled and looked at the other two. "Xeem, I want the red head."

"Why the fuck should you fight him?" He snarled. Xeem was the one missing an arm. "You have a mate."

"Because I'll tell Cross."

They stopped arguing and faced the male they had chosen to fight. Not sure what to do, they faced them back. Ready to fight and get back to Zael. It stood like this, Naruto vs. Shade, Sasuke vs. Xeem, Gaara vs. Kyma, and Zael vs. Cross. The older demons charged them with killing intent in their eyes. The fight was about to get dangerous and bloody real quick. Naruto and Shade fought like animals over a piece of meat, Sasuke and Xeem fought with fire. Kyma looked like she was trying to seduce Gaara more than fight. (And he did not seem to happy about that) Zael and Cross' fight seemed to one sided in the beginning, but that was because Zael didn't really feel like fighting.

Each battle it was hard to tell who would be the victor as they all seemed evenly matched. But someone has to win eventually. Let's watch the fight between…

I know it's short but I want my reviewers to tell me who they want to fight first! R&R!


	11. Gaara vs Kyma

Gaara vs. Kyma

The red head was starting to get annoyed as the female hadn't actually tried to fight, but seduce him. Gaara waited until she got close once more before hitting her in the lower chest area with the sand and threw her several feet back. Once he started, he didn't let up. He wasn't really merciless before and he didn't want to start now, especially because Zael was alone with Cross. Gaara wanted to be by her side.

Kyma was being thrown and pummeled by the sand for a while, Gaara wasn't sure if she really was a worthy fighter. That was until she was instantly behind him with a sly smile. Before he could react, he was the one thrown several feet away. He stood up quickly and looked at her. There was two of her, both with a cocky smile on their face.

"You should really hone your senses honey." She said sweetly. "I was behind you the entire time." The second one dissolved into the girl's shadow.

Gaara didn't respond to her, just started thinking about the fight a little more. She could take her shadow and turn it into a real double body. That was a good clone technique, but he would find a way to beat it. Kyma was laughing quietly as she looked at him with some evil look in her eyes. She was going to have fun with this one. She had to be honest with herself that it shocked her he didn't respond to her body.

"Stupid mutt." Kyma said outloud. "She just had to find a cute guy that somehow isn't attracted to me. I'd rather not fight, I'm a lover." She winked at Gaara, who looked kind of angry.

"I'm attracted to Zael and Zael alone." He said as he readied to attack again.

He had a hard time hitting her now. She dodged around the sand gracefully and almost managed to hit him with several small claw looking projectiles. The fight felt to even to the redhead until she moved quicker through the sand and kicked him right in the ribs. The blow bruised a lower rib and had almost broken it. If it wasn't for the sand armor, he would've had much worse. He stood up only to be knocked back down. He felt confused and surprised as she was a lot stronger than she let on.

He stood up with a crack showing on his cheek. The sand armor had been chipped a little. Kyma tilted her head in curiosity before smiling cunningly. She slowly started to walk towards the red head as her claws extended and began glowing a faint pink. There was a look in her eyes that made Gaara feel on edge and something told him that he needed, at all costs, to avoid her claws. He kept her at bay for the longest time, but it appeared that she was toying with him. Even with sand surrounding them, somehow he couldn't hit her.

Yet she had managed to bruise the sand ninja. Luckily no more than that since he was able to keep her away now. Her hand wasn't glowing anymore, but he didn't drop his guard. He kept his eyes trained on her, refusing to let her use the double. Kyma noticed this, but her smile never faded. She winked and a black ring went down her body, nothing else had happened though. Gaara felt on edge again and barely managed to block an attack from behind.

Her hand was glowing again and she clawed his arm. Quickly retreating for a bit, Gaara inspected his left arm. It felt weird, heavy and he couldn't move it at all. From his fingers up to just below his elbow, his arm was glass. He didn't know what to think or how to react. He just looked up at her.

"So desert boy," She laughed. "Now you know what happens when you super heat sand."

Her hand as still glowing as she charged him again and Gaara was on the defensive. Every time she clawed at the sand with her pink hand, it turned to glass and fell to the ground. Eventually both of her hands were glowing and Gaara was about 50% glass now. His left cheek and arm, part of his right upper leg, his stomach and two of his right hand fingers. He felt backed into a corner and he didn't like it. But he was running out of ways to win this fight.

During the fight, he couldn't help but think of Zael. She was fighting alone with someone who she clearly stated she didn't want to fight, even when she did lose control. He was worried about her. Even though she did seem stronger than him at times.

(Kazekage Manor, three days ago)

_**Gaara had just finished the day's paperwork as Zael was almost done sorting it all. She was 'Tsuki' now, which she had explained she picked that name for her father, but had her smile on her face. The red head really enjoyed her smile and her company. Especially now that they were basically together. They weren't as feisty about it as Naruto and Sasuke, but The Kazekage preferred the way the acted.**_

"_**I'm finished, Lord Kazekage." Zael said happily as she approached his desk.**_

"_**On time as always." He stated as she sat beside him. She just smiled and laughed in return.**_

(Back to the fight)

Gaara couldn't really move his body anymore as Kyma had gotten most of his legs now, so he used sand to move around. He managed to hit and bruise, even cut once, her a few good times. But she kept coming at him until he was almost all glass. Just his head was left. The red head had been back into a corner, a feeling he was not use too. Gaara was running out of time as Kyma slashed across his face. No mark was left, but his body was incased in glass and he only had a few minutes of air left.

(Oasis, two days ago)

_**The sun was just starting to set as Gaara and Zael sat near the small pool of water. Gaara told her more about his past, even the bloodthirsty killing people part. Her smile never disappeared and her hand had been laying on top of his the entire time. She never once looked scared or disgusted.**_

"_**You know, maybe he never left." She said randomly. "I bet Shukaku helps you out along with your mother. And I bet you'll learn new techniques never thought of by sand users!"**_

(Fight)

Gaara's eyes were closed for the longest time, Kyma laughed loudly and cheerfully. She kept going on about how he would make a beautiful statue in her collection as she stood there, laughing and unguarded. She had her back towards him until several shards of glass zoomed passed her, cutting and slicing at skin it barely touched. Gaara was free and had glass floating around him instead of sand.

"You said it yourself." He started. "Glass is just another form of sand."

The glass shards hurled towards her faster than the sand had and cut deep into her shoulders and neck. Kyma hissed in pain before moving to attack, but she had double trouble fighting against both sand and glass as she became surrounded. Gaara, once again, refused to let up. Not until Kyma was almost in ribbons.

"How the fuck?" She hissed. "Not even Tsuki no Suna could do that and he was one of the strongest desert demons."

"Because I have someone believe I would be the first." He answered. "And you're threatening that person."

Before she could react, he used sand coffin and sand burial, with glass in the equation now, the sand was dark crimson red. Gaara had won, though he could feel the price of bruised bones and skin. He ignored the injuries as he decided he needed to leave the battle field before he got hurt more.


	12. Sasuke vs Xeem

Sasuke vs. Xeem

The raven was locked into a staring contest at first with the one armed demon. Sasuke didn't think this fight would be much, but decided not to drop his guard. The demon looked irritated as he growled to himself before pinching his nose together. Before Sasuke had the time to question, he tried blowing his nose and another limb grew from his rip off arm. Sasuke didn't really seem to care as he laced the sword with Chidori. He was hoping to end this fight quickly, mainly because he just didn't like the demon.

Xeem and Sasuke charged at the same time and met around the middle in a bloody clash. The raven had quickly sliced at the other male, sending electric currents into his body. Xeem finally decided to retreat to get away from the constant shocking. The wounds on his body healed faster than Zael could. Sasuke just scoffed at him, not really impressed.

"You're pathetic." The raven chuckled darkly. "Now that I'm actually fighting you in a good condition, I see that."

"Bastard." He growled, his fangs bared. "I haven't even begun to start."

"Don't think you'll win." Sasuke retorted as he looked over to the other fights.

Xeem growled roughly and charged again after a pinkish purple ring coated his body. Sasuke didn't looked fazed at all as he started cutting at the demon again. He even kept a straight face when he noticed that nothing was happening. It was like he was touching him. He looked closely and noticed the wounds were healing as fast as they were appearing. Sasuke growled to himself when he saw this. Xeem landed a blow on Sasuke's stomach, pushing him back a couple of feet. The raven looked up with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Xeem took a step back, but growled threatening at him. Sasuke noticed that his fangs and claws were about the same length as Zael's and stopped for a minute. He took another look at the demon and noticed he had a few similarities. His pupils were thin crosses as well.

"What the fuck?" Sasuke said to him. "You have some appearance similarities to Zael. I thought Cross hated desert demons?"

"I am not an abomination like that fucking mutt." Xeem taunted. "I was born as a fox, Cross took some remaining DNA he stole from Zael's father before killing him and altered a few of us. I'm better than everyone! I am the ultimate weapon!" Xeem chuckled darkly as he charged towards Sasuke, who was just standing there.

The fight was going through the motions as Sasuke kept slicing at Xeem, even cut off limbs, but everything healed as soon as it was injured. Sasuke was getting pissed as he started using smaller forms of Amaterasu's flames. Even those wounds were healed within seconds. The raven was really starting to get irritated. Especially with the words 'abomination' and 'mutt' still running through his head. He didn't respond to Zael all that much, but he didn't like her being put down like that. He kept trying to decapitate the demon.

"Why do you care about that freak anyways?" Xeem asked while trying to claw at Sasuke. "I mean, she's close to Naruto. She'll understand the things he's going to go through way better than you ever would."

Sasuke didn't answer, just kept slicing off limb after limb. The raven had thought about that, several times actually. That's why he stopped responding to her as much. She could help Naruto more than he could, she could protect him better than he could. Just because she was a demon and the one who was there when he turned into one. Sasuke had resented her for a little while now. As he started thinking about this again, his anger flared up and he started using more and more of Amaterasu's Flames. He started producing spikes and spears as he kept attacking the regenerating demon.

"Think about it." Xeem said. "She always be closer to him than you'll ever get."

Sasuke did think about it and just got angrier. Not realizing that Xeem was getting bigger the madder he got. Eventually, Xeem was about as big as a house and kicked Sasuke hard. The raven had a hard time breathing after the blow. He started using Chidori more with Amaterasu's flames. Sasuke couldn't calm down at the moment, he was too riled up. But Xeem landed a blow to his head and it triggered a memory.

(A week and a half ago)

_**Sasuke was outside fuming. Naruto had gotten hurt in a way that confused him, but Zael knew exactly what she was doing. She healed him and laughed about it. Sasuke left and went outside to fresh air. He didn't realize Zael had followed him until she hit him on the head. Hard enough he fell forward.**_

"_**What the fuck?" He growled at her, even after seeing that she looked upset.**_

"_**You have a problem." She said. "Naruto's feeling a little torn apart and you're acting like a spoiled brat."**_

_**Sasuke pulled out his sword and held it against her throat. She didn't flinch as they stared each other down.**_

"_**You know, I can understand Naruto on levels you can't," She started and the sword was pressed harder against her neck she started bleeding. "But you have a bond with him that no one can comprehend. I'm jealous of you, Sasuke. You don't even need to talk to Naruto to understand him."**_

"_**Jealous? Of me?" Sasuke asked as he slowly started to move the sword from her neck.**_

"_**Yes." She said. "He always talked about you, rarely anyone else."**_

_**Sasuke moved the sword and sheathed it as he looked away from her. "Can you do me a favor?" He asked after being silent for a while.**_

"_**Yeah, of course." She replied.**_

"_**Teach me how to understand demons. I want to be there for him, no matter what." He said and looked at her from the corner of his eye.**_

"_**Of course." She smiled as they walked back into the house.**_

(Fight)

Sasuke quickly dodged the next attack as he remembered what Zael had taught him. He started studying Xeem while fighting, learning if anything could work against a demon that could instantly heal. So far, all he couldn't find anything and he was slowly getting frustrated again. Xeem was laughing like a maniac now as he saw Sasuke's irritation.

"You know, I'm surprised you haven't tried to kill her yet." Xeem said, trying to egg on Sasuke's anger. "I mean, with her gone, the blonde is all yours. I mean she's attacked her brother mercilessly. She's nothing more than a freakish monster."

Something clicked in Sasuke's mind as he kept talking. A reason why he couldn't truly hate Zael. Using the Sharingan, he noticed something a little off about Xeem and maybe a victory for himself. He used Susanoo and trapped the demon between the creature's arms. The orb on the back of it created more and more of Amaterasu's Flames and completely surrounded the demon.

(Random Flashes)

"I never blamed Cross though."

"Ruined? I have friends like you two."

(Fight)

"No," Sasuke started. "I envy her, but I don't hate her. She's my friend in a weird sense. She's in trouble, both Naruto and Gaara want to help her…and I…do to."

"Good luck with that!" Xeem screamed. "You can't kill a regenerator."

"Regeneration only means one thing." The raven said. "You just need to kill them faster."

He unleashed the full attack, quickly burning Xeem into ashes faster than his healing could kick in. Xeem died screaming in pain as Sasuke just walked away without a care.


	13. Naruto vs Shade

Naruto vs. Shade

Naruto had gone into a half demon/half human form. He had fox ears, nine tails whipping around, fangs and claws, vertical slits for pupils and his whiskers had widened. He looked like his nine tails form, except it wasn't an aura. It was just him. Shade had changed as well. The fight was like you had thrown a piece of meat between two starving wolves, claws tearing and ripping at skin, fangs snapping down trying to crush bone.

Naruto managed to hit Shade a couple times with a small red Rasengan causing Shade a couple good sized wounds that looked like it wasn't going to stop bleeding soon. But the blonde had one or two wounds that were bleeding pretty good as well. The fight was pretty intense as the sand was becoming muddy mixture because of the blood.

(Somewhere else in the desert)

Sasuke was trying to get back to the village quickly when he met up with Gaara. Without a word they decided they needed to find Naruto before going after Zael and Cross. Luckily, Gaara was pretty sure Naruto was near the gate to the village.

(Fight)

They were staring each other down for the moment as smaller wounds began to heal. Naruto had a broken rib, but he felt it slowly set and heal itself. Shade had a faster healing than the blonde fox and charged at him. The said male snarled but continued to fight. He managed to slice deeply into Shade's chest, close to where his heart is, but not deep enough to end the fight. Shade retaliated and ripped severely at Naruto's shoulder.

"Why do you care about that freak anyways?" Shade asked when he retreated in order to heal.

"Why don't you?" Naruto snarled back. "She's your sister!"

He didn't respond to his question, instead turned quickly and began to claw at the blonde again. Naruto dodged most, but his shirt could no longer be considered a shirt. He caught Shade off guard and punched him hard in the chest. The sound of breaking bones was heard before he flew back. The older fox growled/hissed before rushing at Naruto. The speed caught him off guard as he was thrown back. Naruto quickly regained himself

"How could you treat her like that?" Naruto asked, demanding an answer.

"She's a threat! Desert demons and foxes aren't even suppose to be sexually compatible yet here she is!" Shade almost screamed. "She's a creature meant to destroy us. That's why she was born!"

"Who the hell told you that?" Naruto screamed/growled back.

"Kaos, My father!"

"Did you ever think that he was pissed because the desert demon is who your mother loved and not him?"

Shade roared in rage and charged Naruto quicker than before. The blonde didn't have time to block the attack as he was thrown back once more neither did he have time to catch himself. He was about to hit the rock wall, but a wall of sand caught him. Gaara and Sasuke made it to the sidelines in time. The look on Shade's face when he realized that Xeem and Kyma were dead was pure rage. He growled, no roared, in fury as he started to transform again. Gaara and Sasuke looked taken aback as Naruto just eyed him down.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called.

"I'll be fine." The blonde said. "Just stay there."

Shade couldn't be considered humanoid anymore. He looked more like a werewolf, just he's a fox. Black and silver fur lined his body, a snout (that was snarling) hands that resembled paws and sharp extended claws. He was in a half demonic form and Naruto had to quickly figure out whether or not he still had his consciousness or if he would be acting on animal instincts. This was about to get even bloodier.

Shade growled low and moved to attack Naruto, who barely dodged his claws. The blonde knew he was acting on animal instinct and, if the fight didn't end soon, everyone was going to be in danger. He closed his eyes for a second, the fur on his ears becoming ruffled and wild as well as his tails. He opened his eyes and shot a look at Sasuke. The blonde had an idea.

Shade kept attacking fiercely, trying to cut Naruto in ribbons. The blonde fox just did his best to dodge. He kept moving around, leading the enraged demon until they were in the middle of the wide open space. The older fox wouldn't let up and it turned into an animal fight quickly. Both were clawing and snapping their jaws at each other, trying to maul the other first. Skin was ripped, blood was consumed and it just kept getting worse. Naruto started to look more animalistic as the fight continued, more demonic. Growls and snarls were exchanged like insults until there was a small pause.

Right as Shade went to attack again, Gaara lifted Naruto in the air with the sand and Sasuke used his Fire Ball Jutsu. Right before the attack hit him, Naruto hit the fire with a Rasenshuriken giving it more strength and force. Naruto had remembered that his wind based attacks powers up Sasuke's fire based attacks.

Shade's clothes and skin were burned severely, plus he had reverted back to his human form. He had survived the attack, but only just. He couldn't move at all as he laid there, glaring daggers at the trio. Naruto approached him with a very angry look.

"Just…kill me…already." Shade spat out hoarsely.

"No.: Naruto said. "As much as I want too, Zael wouldn't so neither will I."

"What the…_**fuck**_?" The older fox snarled.

"She never hated you, you know." The blonde continued. "She always saw a reason for how she was treated and still loved her brothers."

Shade gave a pained look.

'_After all we did, she…_' He could finish his thought as he past out from the pain, both physical and emotional. He finally realized how much of a horrible brother he had been.

Naruto looked at the downed and unconscious demon sadly then looked at Sasuke and Gaara. Without a word they all took off back towards the village. Naruto wounds were healing slowly as they ran and his seeping energy were healing the other two's wounds as well. It was time to help Zael.


	14. Zael vs Cross

Zael vs. Cross

Hmm, you've gotten stronger too." Cross said, looking unaffected by all that just happened. He quickly appeared right in front of her. "Now what makes you think you can stand against me this time?"

Zael froze again as she looked him right in the eyes. Her train of thought went and crashed as she forgot how to respond. Cross smiled maliciously as he slammed his fist into her stomach. She was thrown about five feet, but was already coughing up blood. Before the others could do anything, the other three appeared out of nowhere and pulled the out of the room. This was to be a one on one fight.

Cross kept slamming her against walls, throwing her all over the room and dealing blow after blow. Zael would keep getting back up, but refused to fight back. She would block or dodge the best she could, but Cross was faster than she could catch on. Her body was bruised up and cut open, his body was perfectly fine. Zael whimpered as Cross hit her in rage and fury. She whimpered because he was beginning to look like his and Shade's father, Kaos. And she had been frightened by him.

He threw her against the wall with extreme force, the impact would've have broken her spine. Luckily a thin layer of sand cushioned the blow right before she had hit. Her friends had made it back to her. Naruto was snarling at Cross, Sasuke scowling and glaring daggers at said demon while Gaara went to check on Zael.

"Are you ok?" He asked her quietly. She whimpered as she sat up, but nodded. "Zael, please fight back. He's going to kill you."

"I can't, Gaara." She whimpered.

Before she could continue, Cross slammed Naruto and Sasuke into Gaara knocking them into the wall. Naruto whimpered, Sasuke groaned and Gaara coughed up small bits of blood. It didn't help that they were still injured from their fights. But it did give Zael a reason to fight back. Cross didn't have time to block as she quickly collided her fist into his chest. He caught himself and snarled at her, but he stopped for a second when her saw her eyes were violet and the pupils were thin crosses. That was all that had changed though.

"Stay away from my friends." She snapped. "They have nothing to do with this."

Cross continued to fight, Zael still not really fighting, but her blocking and dodging was more effective. He was getting irritated since his attacks were no longer landing. Once a second pause between them appeared, Cross let a black aura coat his hand and punch her hard in the chest. She was thrown so hard that she actually went through the wall. She landed in the village and after catching herself, she ran out towards the oasis.

'_I am not going to put innocent people in this_.' She thought as she could smell Cross following her as well as her friends.

She just made it out of the village when Cross caught up to her. She dodged most of his attack, but sand got in her eyes. She couldn't see as she tried to rub the it out, just lucky she had demon senses or Cross would've been able to kill her. She was just able to dodge his attacks as she was temporarily blinded. He almost landed a fatal blow to her heart, but Gaara got there in time and blocked it before removing the sand from her eyes.

"Tell your _**friends**_," Cross hissed at her. "That this is our fight."

Zael said nothing, but whimpered in their direction. Astonishingly, all understood her as they took a few steps back. Each had somewhat of a worried look as Cross began to attack again. She dodged most, but his claws landed a few blows on her arms. It was obvious that he was tired of her moving around as he growled and snarled. Zael just kept on, but when she landed on some spots of blood, weird looking vines sprung out and stopped her in her tracks. The vines wrapped up all the way to her thighs and held her still.

Cross chuckled darkly as a black energy sphere began building in his hand. Zael's ears flattened against her head as she whined quietly. Naruto, Sasuke and Gaara recognized the sphere from her story. That was the attack that killed her father. The red head tried stopping him with the sand, but Cross moved fast enough that it had no affect really. Naruto and Sasuke rushed towards him in hopes of stopping him before he got to Zael, but he was too far a head of them.

Zael didn't even try to move anymore, she just stood there waiting for it to end. Cross was right in front of her when a few tears escaped her eyes and he threw it at her. The sound of ripping flesh and spilling blood was heard. Her eyes were wide in shock and back to being green. Cross didn't look to happy anymore as Shade had taken the blow instead of Zael.

"Shade? What the fucking hell?" Cross screamed as he back up a bit.

He didn't answer right away as he coughed up tremendous amounts of blood. He went to fall to the ground when Zael caught him. She had ripped right out of her trap.

"Cross, this…isn't right…" Hr wheezed. "We've hated her for all the wrong reasons. Kaos hated her, we shouldn't have let that affect us."

"Wha…what?" he snarled back.

"Naru..to's right. Our father… hated her because mother… loved the desert demon, not him."

"You're going against our own father's wishes of this monster being destroyed?"

Shade didn't respond so Cross kicked him in the neck and sent him flying. Zael appeared right behind and caught him before he hit the ground. She looked at him in shocked as she tried to heal the wound he received instead of her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she realized she couldn't save him. Shade looked at her and grimaced.

"I'm…sorry I was not a very good brother." He whispered. "But maybe you'll forgive me…sister."

The life went out of his eyes as he faded into shadows. Zael, being completely in shock, howled in pain and grief. Cross did nothing, it didn't even seem to affect the demon as he started to approach her. Unfortunately for him, she was ready to fight. Blocking his first attack, she sent him flying with a kick to the ribs. Speeding after him, she followed it up by slamming him into the ground.

Cross quickly regained control as he snapped at her arm after hitting the ground, near biting her arm in two. She retreated before attacking again. She responded in the same way, snapping her jaws and clawing at him fiercely. It was another animal fight, but wasn't that bad yet.

"Did you feel nothing," She growled. "That you killed your own brother? The one who followed you around and did whatever you said?"

"He was in the way!" He snarled back. "He decided to go against father, the alpha's, wishes."

"You're alpha now! You don't have to follow his orders anymore."

He started building up another energy sphere and threw it as fast as he could. Zael barely dodged it but froze momentarily when she realized who was behind her. She turned hoping to see them move out of the way only to see them trapped by the same weird vines she had been. She raced towards them as fast as her legs could carry her. Worry and pain filled her eyes as she didn't think she would make it. Growling/yelling, she sped up.

She didn't make it to them, but a wall of moon white sand blocked the attack and buried it. She had used her father's abilities and protected them, unfortunately for Cross, it also made her snap. She quickly went animalistic as she turned back towards him, her consciousness gone. She resembled Tsuki no Suna now more than ever. Her eyes became so dark violet, they were almost black. Her pupils were exactly like the Shukaku's, her incisors, as well as her canines, grew in length and got sharper and her claws additionally. Markings similar to Shukaku's also appeared on her skin, just slightly different in pattern and width.

Cross instinctually took a step back. He had really pushed her now. He tried not to show the fear he felt, but he had never seen a desert demon close to their half demon form. He didn't have time to think as she sped towards him ferociously. Her eyes completely filled with rage and bloodlust. He had no chance to defend as she continuously slashed and clawed at him. The look in his eyes was pure fear as the cuts and slices became deeper.

She was about to slice right at his heart when sand wrapped around her, freezing her in her tracks. Gaara had stopped her as he fast approached them. Cross just stood there in shock. The red head stood behind Zael, head slightly bowed, as he gently took her hand in his.

"Control yourself, Zael." He said quietly. "I know you can. After everything you told us, I know you don't want to kill him."

She growled and snarled as he talked to her. Naruto and Sasuke was beside him now.

"Come on Azaelia." Naruto said. "You always say that you can't blame him for his actions, so control yours."

"You'll regret this if you don't come too." Sasuke muttered quietly. "He is your brother."

Zael kept snarling, but it slowly turned into whimpers. Her eyes lightened in color, her fangs and claws shrunk in size and the markings faded. She was back to normal, but changing like that had a price on her body. She was weak, exhausted and could barely stand up. Gaara caught her as she fell back.

"Thanks, guys." She said as she slowly past out from fatigue.

Cross finally came too his right mind as he jumped up and aimed to attack. All three actually growled back and had their strongest attacks at the ready. The demon male realized that he was low on energy and didn't have much left to go. He growled threateningly and they all kind of growled back.

"She may not want to kill you." Sasuke snarled.

"But that doesn't mean we don't." Naruto growled.

"You have one chance to leave, or we won't hold back." Gaara said emotionlessly.

Cross growled in return, but knew he couldn't compete at the time. Snarling in frustration, he ran and disappeared as the three took Zael back to the village. They were all fine now thanks to Naruto's energy healing them all during her fight, but she needed rest more than anything. Gaara carried her the entire way there.


	15. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 (Mates)

'Oww…' Zael thought as she sat up. She woke up in a desert with moon white sand. It was nighttime and the moon was blood red.

She looked around, thinking she was alone. About five minutes of walking around and looking, she came unto a castle made of hardened sand. Standing at the entrance was her father, smiling and waiting for her. She ran towards him, hugging him tightly.

"Father!" She cried. "I missed you."

"You've grown up well, Azaelia." He smiled as he lead her inside the castle. "Now, do you realize where you are?"

"I…died…didn't I?" She asked slowly, letting a tear or two fall.

"Not exactly. You're just in an extreme exhausted state." He chuckled. "Once you fully recover, you'll wake up. You went even farther into a rage."

"I don't know what came over me." She said and hung her head. "I was so mad and upset of losing them the same way I lost you."

"You care about them deeply. You're a sweet girl, like your mother." He said. "Your friends became your family. And this redhead boy, Gaara. There's more than friendship there."

Zael didn't respond as a blush crept across her cheeks. Tsuki no Suna smiled as he saw the emotion in his daughter's eyes. He laughed quietly.

"I wish I could've met this man who has taken control of my daughter's heart." He said with a gently smile.

"He used to be a human host for Shukaku." She said quietly.

"Then I know he'll be able to take care of you." He said just as quietly. "It's time for you to go back Azaelia. Take care of yourself and of your friends."

Zael looked up to see her father and the surroundings fade from her sight. She looked around in total blackness when she felt her body become sore and achy. The darkness had taken over her sight but her sense of smell told her that her friends were near. Eventually, she opened her eyes to see Naruto and Sasuke at the foot of a bed while Gaara was sitting right beside the bed.

"Zael, you're awake." She heard Gaara say with concern and worry.

She looked around, noticing she was in Gaara's room, on Gaara's bed. Both Naruto and Sasuke were in their normal forms as was she and Kankuro was there as well. Zael inhaled sharply when she saw him and tried to change into 'Tsuki'. All that results was her groaning in pain and Kankuro laughing quietly. Gaara stood up quickly, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have too." He said quietly. "He's known for a while."

She looked up at Gaara, who looked worried. Naruto and Sasuke had also leaned in a little closer. Zael looked at all her friends like she was studying them closely. Once she looked over all of them she sighed heavily as she buried her head in her hands. It was muffled, but you could hear her sobbing.

"Zael," Gaara moved closer as Naruto and Sasuke did too. "Are you ok?"

"I was…so…worried." She cried. "I was afraid…I didn't stop Cross in time."

Naruto laughed meekly, Sasuke looked away and Gaara placed his arms around her shoulders. She leaned into him almost instantly as she dried her eyes. Then, with everyone watching, kissed Gaara on the cheek. He smiled faintly as Naruto motioned for everyone else to leave. Once they were gone, Gaara didn't have time to respond as Zael gave him a real kiss.

"Feeling better?" He asked when they parted. His faint smile a little bigger.

"Sore as hell, feeling low on energy, but yes I do." She smiled back. "I'm not worried now that I know you guys are completely fine."

Gaara looked at her seriously for a moment before kissing her again.

(Outside the mansion)

"Well, she seems like she's going to make a full recovery." Naruto joked as he and Sasuke headed back to their house. "But her energy still feels almost non-existent."

"She just needs more rest." Sasuke responded. "since neither one is experienced, I bet she's still going to get some rest." He gave a smirk as he chuckled to himself.

"Unlike us." Naruto said before pulling him the house quickly and slamming the door shut.

Both lost themselves in the other's touch. They even forgot that the barriers were off the house and Naruto sucked at setting them up. Sasuke tried once again to be dominate, but Naruto roughly slammed him against the wall, but not enough to hurt the ninja.

"Sorry Sasuke." Naruto breathed huskily. "I can't control my instincts any longer. You're going to have to deal with it that I'm going to be seme."

Sasuke moaned as Naruto bit down on his collar, aiming to leave a mark on the raven's body. The blonde took complete control over the situation as he gently led Sasuke upstairs to their room. The two boys were stripped of their clothes quickly, Naruto ravishing Sasuke's body with little nips and kisses. The raven groaned in anticipation as Naruto would get close to his erection, but never touch it. The blonde just gave an evil smirk.

Sasuke was about to complain, but opened his mouth to gasp as Naruto finally took him in his mouth. The raven decided it wasn't going to bug him being the uke. Just with Naruto though. Sasuke kept moaning, almost howling, until Naruto pushed him over the edge. Smirking, Naruto slowly cleaned up the semen off of the raven's member.

"You better not be…Ahh!" Sasuke moaned as Naruto licked at his entrance.

"I'm nowhere finished, teme!" He growled seductively. "You're not going to be able to walk tomorrow."

Sasuke groaned happily as Naruto fingered at his entrance. The raven growled as Naruto slowly pushed into him. It started off slow for once, the blonde wanting to prolong the moment together, before it sped up. The human male started sucking on the demon's neck, leaving mark after mark as he started to jack himself off timing with Naruto.

Thrust after thrust, moans trailing moans, the temperature in the room quickly heated up. Luckily the barriers were barely attached so outside their sounds were muffled. Naruto kept going, stalling at some times, going full force at others. Sasuke was couldn't last much longer as Naruto started to slow down, but still made his thrusts hard. They came at the same time, both exhausted as they kissed passionately for the next while.

The sun had just gone down when Naruto animal energy kicked in and he was ready to go again. He teased and tortured Sasuke twice as bad this time and even made sure to go as slow as possible until the raven was uncharacteristically begging. The blonde just laughed to himself and this time got him doggy style. Which happened to be his favorite, but Sasuke blamed that on his now canine DNA.

The already thinned barriers barely held up for the night as Naruto and Sasuke continued for maybe another hour before finally both had past out. They fell asleep, close as possible, and smiling.

(Kazekage's mansion, Gaara's room.)

Gaara was now sitting on the bed beside Zael, holding her close and gently kissing her cheek. She was leaning against him, rubbing her hand against his chest. Both were smiling in content as they sat there, but there was a hidden look in Zael's eyes. Gaara noticed the other look when she nuzzled her nose into his neck.

"Zael, are you ok?" He asked with slight concern.

"Of course." She smiled before kissing him. "Just there's something I want to do, but I don't know how to ask."

"You can ask me anything Azaelia." He assured her and hugged her tighter.

"Ok," She sighed quietly. "I want to be your mate Gaara, but I don't know how to start or to even ask you of that…"

Gaara didn't know how to respond to that and a light blush tinted his cheeks as a dark red one ran across Zael's nose. Both were sitting rather still as the silence continued. The red head still wasn't sure how to respond but went back to continuously kissing her cheek. She smiled shyly and leaned more into him. They sat like that, in peaceful silence, for a while. Until a knock on the door interrupted them.

"Damn your brother." Zael growled quietly towards the door.

Gaara chuckled as he got up and went to answer his older brother. He had to step out of the room as his Kazekage responsibilities called for him. Zael sat there, already missing the red head. She whimpered and whine to herself as it took longer than she wanted. When he came back inside, her eyes light up fast, causing him to chuckle quietly. When he got back to the bed, he surprised her by making her lay back onto the bed.

"Gaara?" She squeaked, surprised.

"I want you to trust me on this." He said quietly, nuzzled her neck gently. "While I'm nowhere as experienced as everyone else, I am still a male."

"What about Kazekage responsibilities?" She asked as she started to purr with glee.

"I told Kankuro to tell Temari to take of it." He mumbled against her skin.

She had no more questions as she kissed him passionately. He was now laying completely on top of her, but resting his weight on his arms instead of on her. They kept kissing each other for a while, since neither knew what to do next. So Gaara had an idea formed when he remembered drunken stories told by Kankuro.

He leaned down and nipped at her collar bone which cause her to purr happily. Zael was slowly starting to lose control as her instincts kicked in. She accidentally ripped through Gaara's shirt. He laughed quietly as he discarded the torn fabric. The red head decided, only to be fair, that the same thing should happen to her. Using bits of rough sand, he tore right through her shirt.

She yelped and went to cover her chest quickly. Gaara sat up, pulling her with him. She moved her hands slowly as she pressed against him. There was another silence as they sat there, holding each other close. Zael let a out a sigh of content as she snuggled against his shoulder.

"Gaara?" She whispered. He looked at her. "I…I'm still nervous…"

"Then we don't have too." He gave her his faint smile. "I'm not going to push you and you don't have to push yourself."

"Can I say one more thing?"

"Of course."

"I love you." She said before kissing him again.

Gaara had frozen momentarily, forgetting how to respond to those words. But he quickly regained his composure and kissed her back. They laid her back down on the bed before curling up beside her. They both just closed their eyes, but neither one fell asleep. They just laid there, listening to the sound of the other's breathing.


	16. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 (Punishment)

Naruto woke up first, feeling really horny. He groaned as Sasuke was still asleep and he didn't want to wake the raven up to rudely. The blonde laid back down on the bed, trying to keep his mind off of what he wanted to do to the man sleeping beside him.

He didn't have to fight for long when he felt a hand run down his chest towards his crotch. He looked over to see Sasuke smiling evilly with lust covered eyes. Naruto smirked back and quickly rolled on top of the ninja.

"Morning dobe." Sasuke said huskily.

"Morning teme." Naruto smirked. "Ready for round 4?"

Sasuke just bit down on Naruto's shoulder as an answer. The blonde quickly began to attack the raven and loved every response he was getting. The ninja, lustfully, bit, licked and sucked all over the demon's neck and shoulders. Leaving mark after mark. After a few minutes, when Naruto sat up for a second, Sasuke duck down between the sheets and took the blonde's member in his mouth; causing the fox to let out a howling moan.

Neither one knew the barriers were just getting weaker and weaker, there were even some cracks and chips forming in the downstairs ones.

Naruto was bucking his hips as Sasuke sucked hard. The raven didn't mind, secretly, he enjoyed it. As the fox was moaning/howling, he didn't notice that he was releasing his energy. So he didn't noticed that when he came in Sasuke's mouth, howling loudly, that he destroyed whatever barriers were left. And since it was daytime, everyone could here them. Plus they weren't finished.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke roughly, pulling him back up. The blonde didn't bother for prepping, he lost control on his instincts already, as he slammed into the raven as forcefully as he could. The ninja just moaned loudly as it became rougher and more animalistic.

(Kazekage Mansion)

Zael was curled up happily against Gaara, purring softly as he ran his hand down her back. She had even started nipping at his shoulder gently. Actually, she would bite a little, then lick where she bit. When she did this just above his collar bone, the red head shuddered and sighed in pleasure.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" She panicked as she looked at him.

"No Zael." He chuckled quietly. "That actually felt kind of…good."

She smiled shyly and began to purr a little louder as she nuzzled back against him. Both were shirtless, but it didn't bother them as they were content laying as close as they could be. Zael went back to what she had been doing. Gaara thought he needed to do something else, only to be fair, when he bowed his head down and bit her just above the collar bone. She reacted in the same way.

She looked at him and giggled after words, kissing him passionately. They stayed like that until a loud howl erupted loudly.

"Naruto!" Zael growled as she sat up.

Gaara had placed his head in his hand as he realized what that sound meant. He looked at Zael, who definitely wasn't happy, and remembered that he didn't have a shirt. The red head got out of the bed and grabbed one of his.

"Please do some form of punishment from the both of us." He asked quietly and handed her the shirt.

She was able to put it on, but it fit rather tight against her chest.

"You have no idea." She growled, but it quickly turned into a whimper as she held her arms out for him.

He leaned down and kissed her gently before starting to kiss her neck a few times. She started purring again. Which stopped when she was even able to hear Sasuke. Gaara helped her up before kissing her again and letting her go. He really hoped she would find a way to punish them.

(At the house)

Naruto and Sasuke howled together as loud as they could as their final orgasm erupted between them. Breathing heavily, they laid down beside each other, the blonde pulling the covers back onto them, and closed their eyes. It didn't last for long as their door swung wide open to reveal a very pissed off Zael. Her eyes were violet in anger as she stared them down.

"Uhh, Zael?" Naruto asked nervously. "Something wrong?"

"Yeah. You broke the barriers.." She snarled.

The look on their faces made Zael smile inwardly. Sasuke's face was so red and embarrassed she could've laughed if she wasn't so angry. Naruto faced had drained of color as he stared at nothing. Zael was growling low.

"Why do I get a bad feeling from you?" Sasuke asked, his voice cracking a little.

"Because you _**are**_ going to pay for the embarrassment." She growled. "A punishment from me and Gaara."

(The next day, at the oasis)

Naruto whined and whimpered as Sasuke was placed in a box like barrier ten feet from him. Zael was sitting on top of it with an evil looking smirk. The blonde whined again as he noticed very compact moon white sand spheres hung above his head between him and the raven.

"Zael, what exactly going on?" Naruto asked her.

"Your punishment is this; you have to make it to Sasuke and break this barrier, but you have to create your own barriers to stop those from falling on your head." She replied.

Naruto whimpered. That was one technique he never mastered and now he _**had**_ to master it. The blonde looked up then back at Zael. The look in her eyes was serious. He was going to have to do this. He gulped and took a step, but jumped back as one of the spheres dropped with speed. He looked at her to see her smiling. The blonde fox gulped but decided to try.

(Kazekage Mansion)

"So Gaara," Kankuro started as he was sorting the papers today. "Any chance you know what she's going to do to them?"

"She said something about training Naruto to master placing barriers." He replied.

"That doesn't seem like a punishment for him to me." The puppet master said. "That kid loves training."

"She said she'd make it a punishment for him." Gaara stated. "How much more? I'm curious about what she's doing now."

"Just a few more papers to sign. I'll ask Temari to help me sort it."

Gaara nodded and continued looking at all the papers in front of him. Kankuro handed him the last stack of the day.

"You know, you need to make her be a secretary again." Kankuro whined. "She was a lot faster than me."

Gaara smiled faintly before signing the last paper. He stood up and headed towards his room. Kankuro whined a little again, being left to sort it all. The red head approached the window seat and looked out the window. He could barely hear Naruto growl in frustration. He smiled softly. He removed his Kazekage outfit and changed into his normal clothes. He did want to see what Zael had done to Naruto and Sasuke.

He headed out towards the oasis as fast as he could. The first thing he noticed was Zael, sitting on top of a light purple box, and she was still wearing his shirt. Naruto was on the ground dodging several white sand spheres and Sasuke was in the box. He approached her quietly, though he knew that she knew he was there. She smiled when he was beside her, sitting on a small floating island of sand. He saw the exhausted look on Naruto's face and smiled as well.

"What exactly are you doing?" He asked quietly.

"Forcing him to learn the barrier technique." She replied. "He's not doing very good. Guess I should in crease the strength of Sasuke's barrier."

Naruto looked up at her as she did what she said she would. One of the spheres aimed towards his head, but was stopped by a light reddish orange barrier just above his hair. Zael smiled and increased the strength again. The blonde fox was barely starting to get the hang of creating barriers. The female just smiled slyly as he started to approach them, she increased the number of sand spheres now.

"Come on Zael!" He growled loudly, the energy from it slightly cracking the barrier she sat on.

"This is a punishment, not a training exercise." She stated, once again increasing strength and number.

Naruto growled again and a barrier appeared above his head, blocking two from pelted him in the head. He slowly was beginning to advance towards them as he was able to produce more and more barriers. Once he finally made it to them, he growled, no roared, tremendously and shattered the box containing Sasuke. Zael had jumped off of it before getting caught.

"Now for Sasuke's punishment." She said cheerfully.

"What?" He snapped. "I thought being stuck was mine."

"Nope." She laughed. "Naruto's out of demon energy, meaning he's going to be asleep for at least a full two days."

Sasuke stood there dumbstruck before looking at the blonde. It was true, he was already asleep and snoring lightly. The raven growled at Zael, silently cursing her. But he picked up the male fox and went back to the house. Zael giggled lightly before stretching her arms up high. She looked at Gaara and smiled.

"That, hopefully, will be effective." He said quietly.

"It better be." She stated. "Or I'll find something worse."

The red head laughed to himself as he began to walk back to the mansion. Of course, Zael followed him happily. Gaara looked at her and realized she had altered his shirt a little. It was shorter and showed her stomach and the sides had been cut a little and tied together creatively with small leather rope. It wasn't as tight against her now. Gaara smiled faintly when he noticed he wasn't getting that shirt back.


	17. Chapter 13

This chapter is mainly Gaara and Zael since Naruto's gonna be asleep for a while.

Chapter 13 (Uh oh)

(Kazekage Mansion)

Gaara kissed Zael gently as they entered his room. They didn't have long together as Temari started calling for him. The demon growled and quietly cussed her out. The red head laughed quietly. Zael wouldn't let him go for a few more minutes, at least until Temari was just outside the door.

"I'll be back." Gaara said as he kissed her forehead.

"Hurry." She whined. "I don't like being alone."

He chuckled quietly as he left. She stood there, pouting because she knew it was going to be a while. After a minute or two, she looked around his room. Not that she hadn't already memorized its structure, but she didn't know what else to do. She finally decided to take a bath.

She walked in the private hot spring after wrapping up in a towel and placing her clothes on the bed gently. Maybe a relaxing bath is something she needed anyways. Once in the water, she felt the stress melt away. She sighed in content and closed her eyes as she relaxed.

(Meeting room)

Gaara sighed as the meeting finally ended. He couldn't get over the fact that the elders still tried to completely control him. He did find it funny how often Kankuro would get in a fight and argue with them when they berated Gaara even just a little. He sighed again as he begin to pick up and straighten his papers. He thought he was the last one in the room.

"You all right, little brother?" Kankuro asked as he walked back into the room.

"Yeah." Gaara asked as he picked up his work. "Kankuro, can I ask you a serious question?"

Kankuro blinked once before approaching him. "Of course. I have a feeling this is about Zael."

"Yes." He replied, his head down a little. "I don't know what to do…exactly."

So the red head confided in his brother. Asking if he could help him with nervousness issues and even tell him what he needs to do, since he wasn't sure himself. Kankuro laughed quietly, finding funny how much Gaara didn't know.

"You do realize it's going to be a little hard for me to give you advice right?" The puppet master said after his brother finished.

"Why's that?" The red head asked curiously.

"Do you not remember that I'm currently dating another guy?"

Gaara hung his head a bit. It wasn't that he had forgotten, but he was really hoping Kankuro could of helped him out.

"All I can say is what I said last time." Kankuro started. "All guys have instincts for this kind of stuff."

"I know." Gaara replied. "Kankuro, what would you say if I told you I was hearing Shukaku's voice again?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe follow it." He smiled. "I know you can control him and maybe demon instincts is what you need right now."

They both stood there before Gaara thanked him and walked out, heading towards his room. The red head thought about everything they had talked about, silently agreeing with his brother. He got there quickly only to discover Zael wasn't there waiting for him. He looked around, confused, for a minute when he saw the door knob to the hot spring start to open.

(Gaara's room)

Zael was just getting out of the water as she wrapped the towel around her. Water in her ears and somewhat up her nose, her senses were dulled at the moment. She was pretty sure Gaara was still at his meeting since they usually ran for quite a while. She barely held the towel to her body as she opened the door.

She stepped out, looked up and almost ran into Gaara. Her eyes grew wide as did his. The red head took a quick complete look at her. Her skin was still wet, but not by much, the towel was loosely covering her and barely as it was short. He felt his throat get tighter a bit.

"G…Gaara…?" She stammered. "I didn't…think you'd be…back by now…"

"It was a rather short," He paused and looked away for a second. "Meeting. Kankuro kept getting into arguments and fights with the elders."

She nodded, looked away and tried to take a step back. She met the wall and Gaara had taken the step with her. Zael was trapped between the wall and him. She could feel her cheeks heat up as she looked him in the eyes.

Gaara looked at her face completely. He could hear it again, the quiet whisper of Shukaku. Before he could really understand what it was saying, he leaned down and kissed Zael passionately. She kissed back and Gaara decided that he was going to keep her trapped for right now.

What he didn't expect was when Zael dropped the towel to wrap her arms around his neck. He groaned quietly when it fully registered in his mind. She looked up at him and he saw a light purple glow in her eyes. Next thing he knew, barriers began coating the walls repeatedly. He inhaled deeply before kissing her again.

After a few more minutes of making out against the wall, Gaara picked her up and walked over to the bed. The red head didn't know what compelled him too, but he gently ran his hand down her back and too her ass. Maybe Kankuro was right, what he needed was demon instincts. He was now laying on top of Zael, half of his weight on her, the other portion on his arms. The demoness started purring roughly.

"Ga…Gaara…" She panted, causing him to look at her. "What happened to you 'being fair'?" She asked with a small sly smile.

It took him a bit to realize what she meant, but he sat up and started undressing himself eventually. He could feel her purring getting louder with each article that came off, but it abruptly stopped when he removed his boxers. Her face was quickly turning dark crimson as she looked up at his face. Gaara's cheeks became tinted pink when he understood why she was blushing. He opened his mouth to say something when he felt her gently pull him back down and kiss him.

As their kissing became biting and the biting became sucking, Gaara could hear Shukaku's whisper becoming louder. He could feel feral instincts awaken in the back of his mind and, what really astounded him, he could smell something sweet, intoxicating and irresistible coming from Zael. He felt wound up, really needy, he wanted nothing more than her against him and if anyone bothered them…well it wouldn't be pretty.

Zael was just as wound up. Her instincts were kicking in the back of her head, telling her this and that. She could smell the emotions coming from Gaara, the heat in the room rising. Her instincts kicked her harder as she bit down on his shoulder. He groaned in response as now there was a dark reddish mark. He was now hers. She moaned when he mimicked what she had done, bit her on the shoulder, in near the same spot. Now they both had matching marks. She was now his.

He looked her in the eyes, neither person had any form of hesitation. Zael leaned her head up and gently licked his cheek lovingly. He nuzzled into her neck in return.

"Gaara?" She asked quietly. "I..I want to finish this."

He sat up on his knees and looked at her, she slowly sat up with him. He nodded as he went to kiss and nip at her neck, actually using the sand to spread her legs. She moaned quietly and purred into the junction of his shoulder and neck, causing him to moan back. He didn't think about anything else as he entered her, even forgetting this was her first time as well as his. He remembered when she hissed quietly and gently bit into his shoulder. He stopped moving.

"K…keep going…Gaara." She whimpered. "Or it won't… stop hurting."

"I'm sorry Zael…" He whispered against her skin. He continued to move.

When he stopped again, he was completely inside her. All the way up to his hilt. They stayed motionless for what seemed like an eternity, it had only been a few minutes, when Zael bucked her hips against Gaara. Both groaned in response. Instincts kicked in for both as the red head pushed her back down against the bed, tying her hands above her head with sand. Every kiss against her skin, every nip and bite, caused her purring to strengthen. With her body vibrating, Gaara was in double the pleasure.

Little red marks adorned Zael's chest as red lines went down Gaara's. The two were becoming more feral by the moment as energy mixed as well. The ninja was slowly turning into a demon thanks to the demoness' energy. Gaara didn't notice either as his mind was too occupied, he didn't even realize that the Shukaku's whisper was actually his own voice. Scratch marks covered most of the red head's chest, bite marks covered Zael's.

They started becoming louder in their moans which were becoming howls and mewls. They were both getting closer to the edge as Gaara sped up his already fast pace. Zael's purring was as rough as ever and her howls were getting louder. When they came they both howled each other's name. Their bodies were coated in glossy sweat as they panted and came down from that high. Gaara laid down beside her, holding her tight and close, his eyes actually feeling heavy in exhaustion.

"Gaara?" Zael whispered as she curled up tight against him.

"Hmm?" He responded, realizing how tired he felt for once in his life.

"I love you." Zael said before closing her eyes. She was still purring, but much softer.

Gaara was quiet for while, letting her words sink deep into his mind and heart. "I love you too, Zael." He finally whispered back before they both fell asleep.

(In the morning)

Zael woke up first by the sun's first light. She was still snug against Gaara and couldn't feel happier. She also probably couldn't feel any more sore than she did. She sighed and breathed in heavily when her nose picked up a strange scent. She looked at Gaara closely, he looked the same, but his scent was different. She wiggled out of his hold and sat up, tilting her head curiously. The movement cause the red head to wake up. He sat up and looked at her concern.

"Zael, something wrong?" He asked quietly.

"Gaara…you," She started and leaned in close to him. "you're not human anymore. You're a demon."

He looked at her in confusion then kind of at himself. The claw marks down his chest were gone. The only mark he had was the one on his shoulder. Zael gently ran a clawed finger down his chest, barely cutting the skin. Within seconds, the wound healed. He looked at her, but shook his head before kissing her.

"You don't...seem to mind." She said in between kisses.

"Not really." He responded. "Now, I can be with you on every level."

She smiled and hugged him tight. He smiled faintly as he started kissing her again, gently and passionately. Zael quickly started purring again.

"Zael, I have one question." Gaara said as he kissed her neck. "What was that intoxicating sweet scent you were giving off last night? I just noticed it's gone now."

She didn't answer, but instead froze. Gaara noticed and went to look her in the eyes, but a quiet knock on the door interrupted. Zael growled quietly, but didn't say a name. The red head didn't need her too this time, he knew it was Temari.

"I'll be there shortly." Gaara called. When he looked at her, she looked fine. "Ready to get dressed?"

"Yeah." She giggled. "At least I know where my clothes are."

He looked at her as she stood up and walked to the end of the bed where her once folded clothes lay in a pile. Gaara looked confused as he grabbed her by the waist.

"Why dirty clothes?"

"Just until I get home and change." She said before licking his cheek.

He smiled before letting her go. She wound up getting him some before he even stood up. Gaara noticed her walk was a little off, like she was walking in pain. She quickly told him not to worry. Once dressed, he went outside first.

Temari looked back and saw a worried look on Zael's face. She decided she'd ask the girl if something was wrong instead of following her brother. Once asked, Zael looked like she went into a panic mode.

"What's wrong?" Temari asked quickly. "Are you ok?"

"I…I think I was…was in heat." She sniffed. "Wh…when we mated…"

"Wait, what?" Temari looked confused.

"When a demoness goes in heat and mates," Zael started. "It's about a 90% chance she'll get pregnant."

Temari froze the same way Zael had earlier. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Well, that'll be two females at once."

"You're preg..nent?" Zael asked as she wiped her tears.

"Yeah, five weeks." Temari said before smiling. "When will you know if you truly are?"

"No longer than a week. My gestation period is approximately two months…" She looked away, scared.

"Wow…" The blonde girl said. "Demons mature fast." She shook her head. "I won't tell Gaara, that should be you, if you really are, and if you need anything, just ask me. You are practically my sister now."

Zael nodded and thanked her as she left. The demoness looked around Gaara's room, which she could fully smell everything that happened last night. Honestly, she couldn't be happier. But she was scared as she was still considered a child in demon years.

'_Now, how will I tell Gaara if I am going to be a mother?_' She thought as she slowly made her way back to the house she never stayed in.


	18. Chapter 14

Chapter 13 (Demon families)

Zael walked inside and could smell sex. She looked up at the ceiling in confusion as she could sense Naruto was awake and moving around. She could caught a weird scent from Sasuke. It was his chakra. Half of his normal chakra, the other half being demon energy. She blinked once or twice before becoming really confused.

Naruto came down the stairs once he caught Zael's scent. He had a confused, yet proud, look on his face. The blonde tried to hide his confusion. The two demons looked at each other for a while.

"Well, you're no longer single." Naruto said finally. "That's great!"

"I'm real happy about it." She smiled back. "But I…"

They went silent again as Zael looked down. She was thinking about a few things when Sasuke came down the stairs. The demoness gave him an odd look. His hair was half raven black and half dark grey-blue. One eye was his Sharingan and the other was normal. The right canine was sharp and elongated, while the left was natural.

"Sas…Sasuke?" She stuttered for a second, since she hadn't expected it.

"…yeah." He replied and looked at his left hand, which his nails were sharp claws. "I'm not sure what happened."

"You…you smell…funny…" She said quietly. The raven just looked at her. "I'm going to be in my room, resting." She said, sounding exhausted.

She quietly headed up the stairs and to her bed. There was too much confusing situations going on and she didn't know what to do. Being the demon who was actually born in the Demon Plain, she took it upon herself to be her responsibility. Zael closed her eyes and began to think, but the only solution she could find didn't exactly spell fortune, at least for her. Sighing, she decided to try and fall asleep.

(1st floor)

Naruto was chowing down on some raw meat as was Sasuke. They were quietly watching a movie, only because they didn't want to wake Zael. The raven was leaning into the blonde's arms, but not really watching the movie.

"Her…scent…" Sasuke muttered, even having demon senses now. "It was…"

"The first part is her being mated." Naruto chuckled. "With Gaara. But the second part, I don't know…"

The day went by slow and quiet. Just a few hours had past when the day felt like it should be over. Naruto squirmed as he sat up and sniffed the air. Zael's scent was faded and far away. Even Sasuke realized that she was no longer there. They went up to her room quickly to find an empty bed. Empty except for a note in her hand writing.

Guys,

I'm gonna be out for a few hours, hunting. Please let Gaara know.

Zael

The two boys looked at each other, but didn't know how to respond. Sasuke just turned around and walked out, Naruto silently following. It had been about an hour when the blonde left to go tell Gaara that she had disappeared for a while. The red head didn't quite know how to take that, but said he trusts her.

It had been another two hours before she got back. Naruto became worried because he swore he could smell Cross nearby, but Zael said he was just imagining things. He only agreed because Sasuke couldn't sense Cross at all.

Zael went straight to Gaara after that and stayed there for the night again. The night was long for everyone. It was like time had decided to slow down as much as possible. The demoness was still thinking on how to tell Gaara her news. She didn't even know how to tell her best friends.

And the night didn't seem to want to end.

(A week later)

Naruto put down the last box. Gaara insisted that Zael lived with him and she didn't object. Kankuro and Temari were happy to have another member to their family and welcomed her graciously. Sasuke and Naruto helped her pack and bring her stuff over, but told her to visit everyday. To which she laughed.

While Gaara was working, she had decided to take a bath. It was during this that she felt the first actual movement in her stomach. She froze, not knowing what to do, and called for Temari. The elder sister came in quickly.

"You felt the baby kick?" She asked with a smile. Zael nodded. "Now you're definitely going to have to tell Gaara."

"I know," She said as she finished getting dressed. "But I don't know how." She hung her head.

It hadn't been very long when she could smell Gaara coming, and he was worried. When he entered, his face looked calm, but both women knew better. Temari gave Zael a 'here's your chance' look and walked out.

"Zael, are you ok?" He asked and approached her. "Kankuro said you had called for Temari."

"I'm fine Gaara," She started and looked down at the floor. "But I have something important to tell you."

He hugged her gently with a soft smile. Zael smiled back as she buried her head into his shoulder. She took a deep breathe and decided to start from the beginning.

"Remember when you asked me what was the sweet scent that came from me the night we mated?" She asked, thinking it best to start there.

"Yes." Gaara answered. "To be honest, I can't get it out of my head."

"That scent meant I was in heat." She said slowly and gently pulled back a little. "Gaara,…"

He looked at her directly in the eyes and she inhaled again.

"I'm… pregnant."

The silence became tense and thick. Gaara hadn't let her go, but it was obvious he had no clue how to react. Zael winced and whined almost inaudibly after a few seconds. After a minute or two, he let go of her and his sight drifted to the floor. He was in deep thought.

"Gaara…" Zael whined quietly, wanting him to say something.

"I'm going to…be a father?" The tone in his voice was hard to place, but it might have been fear.

"Yes." She answered and took a step closer to him. He looked at her directly now.

"I don't know how to be one," He said and the fear became more prominent. "I…want you to be happy though. So I'll try my hardest."

Zael gasped so loudly in excitement she could've barked. She hugged him tightly with her stomach pressed up against his. The baby gave another little kick, both of them feeling it.

"Was that…" He said and looked down at her stomach.

"Yeah. My gestation period is a lot shorter than a humans." She answered.

He smiled faintly and hugged her again before kissing her. They stayed there for a while before the elders finally came and got him again. Temari came back inside to check on Zael as did Kankuro. When the door closed, she told both what happened. And they both were happy for her.

(NaruSasu's house)

The two boys were in a heated make out session when they heard a weird humming sound. Both growled in irritation because it was hard to ignore. Moving to the window, they saw a black hole starting to form not to far from their house.

"That looks like the portal that we came through." Naruto said as he got a good look at it.

"Tell Zael to go look at it." Sasuke growled, showing his one sharp tooth.

"The quicker we check it out, that faster it's over with." Naruto said and jumped out the window.

Sasuke followed reluctantly, but followed nonetheless. It was halfway between their house and the oasis. But by the time they got there, the black hole had closed. They were about to turn around and leave when they noticed it had left something on the ground.

More importantly, _someone_. Naruto ran up quickly towards the figure. It was past out in the sand, covered in bruises and cuts. Its energy was down low as was its breathing. And it was a young boy no older than seven. The two older boys took the child back to their house, even Sasuke knew they couldn't just leave him.

Sasuke doctored the boy best he could since neither one knew healing jutsus or even demon techniques. He managed a good job apparently because the kid's breathing became regular. The lder boys had no clue what to do except wait and hope he wakes up.

"Have you ever seen him before?" Sasuke finally asked after a few minutes.

"No," Naruto answered. "But Zael and I stayed away from everyone most of the time."

Neither spoke after that, they didn't know what to say. They looked at the kid, getting a good look at him. He had reddish orange colored hair, which was neck length. Skin tone matching Naruto's and one sharp canine like Sasuke. His scent was demonic, but a mixed.

The day was half over when he woke up. He had black eyes with faint red pupils. He sat up slowly before looking around in fear. Naruto and Sasuke went to comfort him.

"Hey, it's ok." Naruto started. "No one's going to hurt you."

The kid seem to relax as he looked at them. His wounds healed at a slow pace now that he was awake.

"What's your name, kid?" Sasuke asked, uncharacteristically gentle.

The kid was quiet, his eyes searching for something. He opened his mouth a couple of times. It was his voice he was looking for. After a minute, he started coughing horribly. Both older males jumped up and started rubbing his back.

He calmed down soon after and looked at them with gratitude, smiling shyly. He coughed again, quietly this time and seemed to have found his voice.

"It's Kurama." He said in a hoarse whisper.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 15 (Start- Trouble)

Naruto stood there stunned, staring at the child in disbelief. If it wasn't obvious enough, the blonde would've let it go over his head. The only thing that kept his mind sane was the eyes. Kyuubi Kurama's eyes were crimson red, this child's eyes were black. But still…

Sasuke didn't seem bothered in any way, but then again, he also didn't know the name of the Kyuubi. The kid, Kurama, had a soft and shy smile, it seemed the total opposite of what the Kyuubi was. This young demon couldn't be him,…could he?

"Do you know how you got here?" Naruto asked finally. Kurama's eyes turned sad.

"No, I don't remember much." He said quietly. "All I really know is my name."

'_Poor kid._' Naruto thought. '_We can't just leave him alone._'

Apparently, Sasuke thought the same. The raven haired boy was the one to take him up to Zael's old room so he could rest more. Even after the kid was asleep, neither boy said a word. What was there to say when a young child was suddenly in your care?

The watch TV quietly, at least until Gaara randomly appeared at their doorstep looking more worried than he'd ever had been. Turns out, Zael was now missing.

"Missing?" Sasuke repeated in disbelief.

"But, why? Where would she go?" Naruto asked himself.

Gaara didn't know himself and he was too worried to focus on anything else. You couldn't blame the expecting father though. Sasuke stayed behind to watch Kurama while Naruto and Gaara left to find Zael. The red head started to explain that she had been disappearing a lot lately, but would always come back an hour before dinner. It was now two hours after dinner.

Naruto couldn't understand why she would do that nor could he explain why she was potentially putting a child's life in harms way. Did pregnancies make all females act crazy? They searched most of the night with no sign of her, at least until she found them with the same worried look Gaara had.

"I've been looking for you." She had said after Gaara hugged her.

"We were looking for you!" He stressed back. "You weren't back when you normally are."

The look on her face was sad and hurt. She hugged Gaara back, just as tight, and apologized. Turns out, she had lost track of time because she had been reading a book about demon hormones. She had briefly gone back to the Demon Plain and brought back a few books to help prepare her.

Naruto looked at her like she had just grown horns or something.

"How did you get back there then come back here.?" He asked, not completely believing her story.

"A rift opened up randomly. I thought I'd take advantage of it." She smiled, still hanging onto Gaara.

"How did you get back?" He asked, stressing each word.

"The paper from Raizy, duh." She said. "It works every time we're in the Demon Plain."

The blonde stood there, confused as hell. Neither Sasuke or Gaara knew why it was so confusing, so he tried to shrug it off. Before another word was said, Kurama walked out of Zael's old room, looking terrified. Gaara and Zael now looked confused.

"Speaking of random rifts opening up…" Sasuke started quietly.

(Two hours later.)

"Poor kid. Not one memory, but your name." Zael said after handing him a plate of food.

He quickly ate up the food, almost as fast as Naruto would've. Zael let him go back up into her old room to rest some more as she went back into the living room where the three males sat and waited. She looked at Gaara and Sasuke. One having the scent of a full fledged demon and the other having a mixed scent of human and demon.

"So what are ya'll gonna do with the kid?" She asked as she sat down beside Gaara.

"Not sure." Sasuke muttered.

"We can't leave him to fend for himself," Naruto stated quietly. "He's just a kid."

"A demon kid," Zael countered. "And a fox at that. But I've only once heard of a crimson furred fox…"

"Who?" Sasuke asked and looked at her.

She didn't respond, only stared at Naruto, who whimpered quietly in return. He knew who she had meant right then. Instinctually, he clutched his shirt where the seal used to be. Sasuke noticed this and groaned, realizing what she had meant.

"That's not possible, is it, Azaelia?" Naruto asked, his voice a little louder now.

"I'm not sure." She said. "Maybe he was reborn when he gave up his own life to save you, but who knows honestly."

Gaara had been quiet the entire time, not sure what to think about all of this just yet. He had one hand on top of Zael's and another near her stomach. Everyone had quieted down again soon enough. And they stayed that way for a bit until Zael turned to look at the door and twitched her nose.

"Kankuro's coming." She stated and looked at Gaara.

He just nodded and began to stand up, Zael following suit. Neither Naruto or Sasuke budged as they started to leave. This was still just a big jumbled mess. The blonde and raven stayed there for a good while after the two had left.

It was hard to believe for them both. The powerful nine tailed fox spirit that had dwelled inside Naruto's body since his birth and been reborn into a harmless looking kid with no memory at all. Yeah, just a little hard to believe. Especially since Naruto was sure Kyuubi had completely disappeared when he first woke up in the Demon Plane.

They both just sat there, still not sure what to do, as they listened to the quiet rhythmic patterns of breathing in their house. Maybe they would figure this one out soon cause the tension was killing them.

(Kazekage mansion)

Gaara was in his Kazekage outfit and Zael looked like Tsuki. Kankuro had gone to get them because some ninja from the leaf were coming and they had arrived. The ninja were Shikamaru, Kiba, Rock Lee and Sakura. They had been sent because some of the elders had asked for a small squad to 'help' in the village's intruder problem.

Gaara knew that Shikamaru only agreed to go because of Temari, Kiba only because of Kankuro. He was a little worried Kiba might recognize Zael's scent even though she was disguised as a different person. So far, nothing had been said.

"I thank you for showing up at such a odd time." He said. "So far we have not seen hide nor hair of the intruder, but we are not sure whether he has left or not."

'Lord Kazekage," Sakura started. "Any leads?"

"Unfortunately, none at all." Gaara replied and shoot a quick look at Zael. "But once we do, you will all be informed."

The nodded and said thank you before leaving. Temari and Kankuro had been waiting outside for Shikamaru and Kiba while Lee and Sakura kept walking. Zael didn't change back until ten minutes had past. She looked at Gaara, sighed deeply and walked to his room. He quietly and quickly followed.

'Are you ok?" He asked as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him.

"This is all my fault…" She whimpered.

'No, it's not." He stated and kissed her cheek. 'And don't you dare think like that."

She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. He smiled as he held her close. After a few minutes of silence, Gaara felt a movement from Zael's stomach. He sighed and Zael looked up at him.

"You're still nervous, aren't you?" She asked quietly.

"Yes, truthfully I am." He responded and started pushing her backwards. "Like I told you, I haven't had any real experience at parenthood nor have I had a good teacher."

"Do what you did with me." Zael said and licked his cheek gently. 'Follow your instincts." She gasped in surprise when she hit the edge of the bed and fell over.

"You mean like now?" He smiled faintly and kissed her. 'I don't feel as nervous with this anymore. But maybe because I have actual demon instincts now."

Zael didn't respond as she started running her fingers up and down his chest. He growled low in return and nipped at her neck. She nuzzled his neck and started purring.

"I'm nervous too, you know." She said before kissing him. "By demon standards, I'm still a child and will be the youngest to have a kid."

"What do you mean?" He asked curiously.

"The youngest demon to give birth before me was Kyma's mother." She started. Gaara tensed up and growled at her name. "And she had been alive for a hundred and forty-six years. I'm seriously just barely seventeen."

"Why are they so much older?" was the only question Gaara could think of?"

In response, Zael smiled and kissed him deeply. He didn't protest until she had stopped, to which he actually whined quietly. She giggled and nuzzled into his chest.

"Because it usually takes a demon many long years to find their mate." She said.

Gaara smiled his usual faint smile and hugged her close. They stayed like that for as long as they could. Just until Kankuro came and informed Gaara that the Leaf Ninja wanted a word with him. Zael hissed in return, to which the puppet master only laughed.

(NaruSasu's house)

The kid had woken up and was wandering about the house. Naruto had decided at least to let the kid stay. Sasuke didn't openly protest, but he was slightly upset at the idea of having someone else in the house again. Kurama didn't notice his reactions as he explored.

"Is there anything to do here?" He asked after a while. "I don't want to sound rude, but I'm bored."

Both older males had found a problem. Zael had informed them that some Leaf Ninja were here and they couldn't really go outside. Sasuke was getting fed up being stuck inside the house as well as Kurama and had an idea.

"Why don't we go to the oasis?" He said after Day Two of the kid being there.

Naruto didn't object and Kurama seemed happy enough to leave the house. Luckily, they hadn't run into anyone on the way there. While Sasuke sat in the shade, Naruto started having a splash war with Kurama.

It was around this time, Sasuke fully noticed the kid's eyes. They were dark crimson red, like Naruto's when in a demonic state, and black where the white should be. The raven had to note that this kid could definitely be the nine tailed fox in a human form. The biggest difference was personality and the fact that he couldn't be older than seven.

Naruto and Kurama played until the kid was out of breath and tired. They went to sit beside Sasuke, annoying the raven with the fact that they were both wet, and dry off. Before Sasuke could object, Kurama had curled up between them both and had fallen asleep. Neither one said a word and just sat there while they looked out towards they town.


	20. Author's note

Just to let my readers know that I am sorry it took so long for the next chapters. I've been under a lot of stress lately and the infamous writers hit me like a brick. I hope to keep it away fro now, but I will not be afraid to ask for ya'lls opinion. Comment and let me know if ya'll have any great ideas that might help keep writers block away and if ya'll have any ideas to keep the story going.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 16 (Trouble brewing)

It had been another week since Kurama and the Leaf Ninja appeared in the Sand Village. The village itself was still on edge since Cross' attack and Zael was becoming irritated for having to constantly hide in her disguise. Naruto and Sasuke were having act as parental figures and Gaara wasn't sure if he could handle all the stress.

The one thing that soothed him was what he heard when he walked in on a conversation between Temari and Zael.

(Yesterday, Late Night, Kazekage mansion)

"So, any ideas for a name yet?" He heard Temari asked, which caused him to stop walking at once.

"No, but I haven't really thought about it much." Zael answered. "Plus, I want Gaara's thoughts first. And I don't know if I'm having a boy or a girl.."

"Well then, I just have to buy unisex clothes for right now." Temari said happily. "You're only, what, two and a half months away now?"

"Yeah."

Gaara didn't stay much longer, but walked with a small smile. It was true when he said he was still nervous, but at the same time he was excited.

'_A name huh?_' He thought. '_It's true, we hadn't thought of any names yet._'

He walked while in deep thought, not realizing that Sakura and Lee were walking towards him until one called out his name.

"Lord Kazekage!" Sakura said rather loudly. "We have some information for you."

That snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Not here, in my office."

(Present, Late Night, Gaara's room.)

Zael was curled up on his bed, buried under the covers. She had been getting cold much more easily now and hated it. Gaara had just entered the room to see such a funny sight. He couldn't help but chuckle at her. She growled.

"Zael," He said softly and walked up to her. "I have some news."

She sat up and held her arms out towards him. He smiled and sat beside her.

"Sakura and Lee found a few dead bodies that looked like an animal tore them apart" Gaara said quietly.

"Cross.." Zael responded in a whisper. "He's still here."

"And there's more.." Gaara inhaled deeply. "They found a note, written in blood that read, Down with the mutt and the evil desert spawn.."

Zael didn't respond as her eyes grew wide. Slowly, her eyes started to turn dark violet and her fangs grew. She started snarling and growling.

"He. Will. Not. TOUCH my baby." She snarled. She sat up even more and hugged Gaara from behind. "And I won't let him harm you either."

"I am not going to let you fight him." He stated and moved her to his lap. She whined and looked at him. "I can see it, in your eyes, you are prepared to actually fight him this time, but I will not put you," He placed a hand on her stomach. "Or my child in danger."

"Gaara…" She nuzzled into his chest and started purring lightly.

"Promise me, you'll stay out of harm's way and you won't confront him." He asked.

Zael didn't respond right away, instead she let her two tails and ears appear. Gently wrapping them around Gaara's stomach, she sat up and kissed him.

"I promise Gaara."

(NaruSasu's house)

Zael had informed them of what Gaara had told her. Even telling them that he wasn't going to allow her in this fight. They both agreed rather quickly.

"I mean no offense, but there's still a chance you'll hesitate." Naruto had said. "I know I won't. I don't like him one tiny bit and I've been wanting to kill him for a while now."

Sasuke agreed and said basically the same thing, just added that fact that killing someone doesn't really faze him. Zael only sighed, realizing there was no way her friends were going to let her fight.

"By the way, have you guys decided what you're going to do with the kid?" Zael asked before leaving, looking up towards the stairs.

"Yeah, we're gonna…gonna.." Sasuke started, but looked away.

"We're gonna adopt him." Naruto finished with a smile. "I mean, he has nowhere to go and he's already taken a liking to the both of us."

"I think that's a good idea Naruto." Zael said with a smile and walked out.

(Another week past, NaruSasu's house)

Everybody was on the edge since Sakura and Lee had found the note. Even young Kurama didn't seem as playful as usual. All of the demons kept their guard up high, just in case Cross decided to attack at any given time. Shikamaru was getting as protective over Temari as Gaara had been getting over Zael.

And it wasn't helping that a few more bodies were found. Zael had explained to Gaara, and Gaara alone, that Cross was healing himself by eating more and more people. As the Kazekage, he wasn't getting very much peace as he was still running wild. And Zael was barely starting to show that she was pregnant so she started staying in his room and barely coming out.

Naruto and Sasuke started taking Kurama back out to the oasis but to train him. Neither one wanted him getting hurt. The kid was a fast learner in most areas and showed quite a strong sense of intellect. What really surprised them was his version of the tailed beast bomb. It was smaller, more compact and, of course, weaker, but it was still rather strong and look more designed to hit small vital spots.

A month and a half had past and still Cross had not attacked. The body count was even getting lower. Zael was getting nervous, as was Gaara, Naruto and Sasuke. None of them knew what to do and even tracking him seemed rather impossible.

Zael was showing, but only just. Temari seemed upset at the fact that Zael was probably not going to get any bigger. And Zael had more news for Gaara.

"Twins?" He asked, fear starting to come into his voice. "T…two babies.."

Zael had started massaging his shoulders as he sat on the bed with his head in his hands. She knew it was big news, but the sooner the better. After a few minutes, Gaara looked at her and moved her to his lap.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have a good sized family." He said. Zael smiled and licked his cheek affectionately. "Have you thought of any names?"

"Not really. I can't really think of any I like." She answered. "What about you?"

"I have one idea." Gaara said before kissing her softly. "If we have at least one boy, we should name him after your father."

Zael stayed quiet, but hugged him tightly with small tears in her eyes. They laid down after a while and stayed in each other's arms for the rest of the night.

But the night itself didn't last long. They were woken up by screaming. Zael sat up quickly her nose sniffing the air. Gaara didn't need her to tell him that Cross was in the village. They ran outside as fast as possible, Zael didn't even bother to change into 'Tsuki' as Naruto and Sasuke met up with them.

Cross was in the middle of the village, with a blood red smirk on his face, and facing Kankuro, Temari, Shikamaru and Kiba. Lee was on the ground a good ways from them with Sakura leaning over trying to heal a wound on his shoulder.

"Cross!" Zael yelled out to get his attention away from the humans.

"Well, there she is." He laughed sadistically. "My baby sister has finally come out to play."

Gaara, Naruto and Sasuke stood in front of her quickly, all growling low and threateningly. Zael was growling too, but she knew she wasn't to fight. Instead she took to going towards Lee and helping Sakura. The pink haired girl looked at her in disbelief, but shrugged it off as Lee's wound started to heal much faster.

"Don't tell me I have to fight you guys in order to get to my sister?" Cross snarled.

Naruto growled, almost roared, and allowed fangs and claws to grow. Sasuke smirked, feeling his skin harden and wings, actual black feather wings, grow from his back. Gaara just stared down Cross with killing intent back in his eyes. Kankuro and Temari talked the others to move out of the way, they stood beside Zael.

"You're not fighting?" Kankuro asked and knelt beside her.

"Gaara won't let me." She stated and finished healing Lee's wounds. "He doesn't want to lose me, or the babies."

Kankuro didn't have time to respond as Cross began to charge at the boys. Naruto charged towards him in return as Sasuke began building up power for a blackened Chidori and Gaara began turning parts of the sand around him into glass.

Zael watched as the fight quickly became more elaborate. Naruto had already taken a good deal of damage, which would've been a lot worse if it wasn't for his rapid healing. Sasuke was able to move much quick and dodge faster than he ever had been able to before.

Gaara hadn't yet suffered a blow, but every time Cross would get close, Zael felt her heart stop. The battle was getting fiercer as Cross seemed to be getting more and more angry. Before a good counter could've been started. Naruto and Sasuke were flung hard, both landing in the building right above were the others were. Now Cross was trying to corner Gaara. Zael was finding it harder and harder to keep out of the fight. Kiba and Kankuro brought down Naruto and Sasuke after scraping the building parts off of them.

The blonde first noticed Zael's struggle to stay out of the fight, only because he saw her eyes flashing from green and violet while her pupils remained the same. Naruto moved to hold her back when Cross actually cornered Gaara and looked right at Zael.

"I wonder how scarred a child can be to grow up without a father?" He said. "Or better yet, maybe I should just make it to where he'll die slowly and in front of it."

Naruto and Sasuke took one look at her and decided she should join the fight. Because the look in her eyes said she was going to whether they liked it or not. Her eyes were so dark violet, they could have been black, with grey colored, pupils in the shape of crosses.

There wasn't even time to blink in her transformation as she went from scared and human looking to pissed and demonic looking. The markings of the desert demon appeared all over her skin and tanuki rings over her eyes. Her fur and hair were more sandy red than silver now, but her tails kept the fox like shape as did her ears.

Cross didn't even have time to think as she moved fast and threw him a good distance from Gaara. The red head quickly got up and looked directly at her, which Zael calmed down almost immediately.

"I know, I know." She said before Gaara could say anything. "I just couldn't stand the thought of losing you."

Gaara looked down at her feet to see moon white sand circling them both. He looked up at her, then took a quick glance at the ninja behind them. A faint smile came into play as he started to whisper in her ear. Zael smiled in return and nodded her head strongly. She retreated back to the others and looked at Naruto. Him and Sasuke only nodded and went to stand beside Gaara.

Cross growled loudly and started advancing back towards them, blood trickling down his left arm. His fangs were protruding out of his lips now and his hair looked more wild.

Gaara started turning sand into glass as fast as he could while Naruto charged up a Rasenshuriken. Sasuke glanced at them both and, once Cross was within a good distance, used a Fire Style move. The flame was pure black now and more like a stream.

Naruto threw the Rasenshuriken into the flames, causing them to expand and become stronger. Cross didn't have much time to dodge the attack and his whole left arm was burned rather badly. Gaara used the glass surrounding them to stop the flames.

Cross was still midair and didn't sense the other bodies approaching. He had no time to move as Sakura and Lee hit him dead on together. As he fell, Kiba and Akamaru hit him again He tried to quickly rebound as he hit the ground, standing up fast and snarling fiercely.

Shikamaru had just caught him in his Shadow Possession Jutsu and the others began approaching him. This just angered the fox demon even more.

"Shikamaru, if you can, get him out of the village." Gaara stated quickly.

Shikamaru nodded and started to lead him out, but he was having difficulty as Cross kept fighting against his hold. Gaara told the others to stay back and protect the village and he would Shikamaru back as soon as he could. Zael tried to follow them, but Gaara stopped her in her tracks.

"Zael, you promised you would stay out." He said.

"But, if you get hurt," She whine quietly.

"I'll come back, that's my promise."

And then Gaara, Naruto and Sasuke headed outside the village to face Cross once again. Hopefully for the last time. Zael dropped to her knees after a while, cursing at herself for not being able to fight with him.

"Father, if you can hear me," She whispered. "Please, just please protect Gaara and my friends. I can't stand the thought of losing any of them."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 17 (Demon Blood will rise)

Naruto punched Cross hard enough to make him fly the second Shikamaru let go of him. The shadow user ran back towards the others as soon as the fight had started. Cross was snarling and even hissing as he stood back up and faced the three demon ninjas.

Cross was beginning to look like a creature from a scary story. Long, sharp silver claws and porcelain fangs, silver fur covering the majority of his body and pissed off, glowing red eyes. Naruto realized that his conscious was fading away fast and that they would be fighting a bloodthirsty animal.

"Gaara, Sasuke." He whispered. "We're going to have to be extra careful this time."

The slightly nodded their heads in response. Both had noticed the change quite easily and upped their guard. Cross was the first to attack, but all three were ready as the fight had truly begun now and bloos was quickly decorating the sand.

(In the village)

The normal ninjas were making sure everyone was ok and safe. Luckily no one had received any real injuries while Cross had been inside the village. Kankuro escorted the few who had received even the slightest injury to the med corps just in case there was poison. Sakura treated most of them.

Temari and Shikamaru noticed Zael had not moved from her spot in the sand. She was no longer staring down the entrance, but depression and fear could not have been more clear on her face. Her tail was tucked close to her legs and her ears had been laid down against her head.

"Hey Zael, don't worry ok." Temari started in an attempt to cheer her up. "They'll have this handled."

"I can't help but worry." She responded without moving. "I know that Cross will resort to anything to get his way."

Temari didn't say anything, it was actually better not to. That is until Zael bent over in a sudden surge of pain and her shorts were quickly becoming stained. The twins were coming a week early.

Shikamaru froze in reaction, not knowing what to do. Temari helped her up and rushed over to where Sakura was. The pink haired girl stayed calm luckily while Temari called for more help, all praying that this was going to go like how a human's would.

(Outside the village)

Sasuke had managed to burn Cross arm to where it was almost unusable. Naruto had slashed deep enough into his stomach that the wounds were taking a lot longer to heal, and the blonde wouldn't let up. Gaara had almost amputated his leg, but Cross had managed to wound the red head's left arm.

Cross, though, was nothing more than a pissed off animal hungry for blood. His fighting was now wild and much more unpredictable, making it harder to catch him. He couldn't feel the pain of his wounds, or even register that he had a disadvantage. He wanted blood, their blood, split over the sand. He roared so loud and strong that the ground actually shook in rage with the demon. It caused the ninjas to lose their guard just for a minute, but that was all the enraged animal needed in order to knock them all unconscious.

They had been dealt a serious amount of damage, even demonic bodies could not stand up to it. Most demons would've died, then and there. It seemed like time had stopped as their bodies fell to the ground. Naruto's wound tried healing, but so far, to no avail. They were down and it didn't look like they were getting up.

(The hospital)

"Just push, Miss Zael, push!" The doctor said to the howling demon.

"It's gonna be ok, just calm and breathe." Temari and Sakura were telling her.

Zael tried to hold back the howls, but she didn't realize it was going to hurt this much. Temari kept dabbing her forehead with a cool wet towel and her nails dug into the bedding, ripping it to shreds. Which is how she felt at the moment.

"Here comes the first one." The doctor said loudly. ""Just keep pushing."

Zael tried to ignore the pain, but it was rather difficult even for a demoness. What calm her down was when she heard the sound of a baby's cry. She looked up to see a tuft of dark red hair and a matching tail poking out of the blanket, which was a pink color.

"A girl?" Zael sniffed. "I have a baby girl."

She didn't have much time to celebrate as the pain started again. The other one was coming out already. She finally clawed right through the bedding and was now scratching against the metal, which Temari was sure that it was going to last long.

"Sakura, get a block of wood or something." The sand ninja said. She was quickly handed one. " Zael, claw into this. We don't want the bed breaking on us."

She said nothing but complied. Zael tried to keep her breathing steady and from howling, but she just couldn't keep it in.

"I see the head. Push harder Miss Zael."

She snarled at the thought, but did as told. She howled in pain one last time when she heard another baby's cry. Looking up she saw silver red hair and little claws, but no tail, poking out another pink blanket. At least she knew why this one seemed to hurt worse.

"Congratulations Miss Zael. Two beautiful and healthy baby girls." The doctor said as she was handed her babies.

Zael sat there with tears of joy clouding her eyes as she looked over the two little girls. Both were small since born a week premature, but still healthy. The one with silver red hair had Gaara's tanuki rings and small black claws like a desert demon. The one with dark red hair had normal nails, but a tail similar to Zael's.

"Gaara, you need to come back soon and see your daughters." She whispered as a few tears fell.

(Outside the village)

Cross was slowly walking towards the three with claws extended. There was nothing on his mind other than complete death. He wanted them dead almost as much as he wanted Zael's utter destruction. He just inched his way closer to the demon ninjas as his mind was slowly coming back into consciousness.

(Sasuke)

The raven went to open his eyes as a splitting headache tore through his skull. Cross had managed to deal a good sized cut above his left eye. His sat up slowly as he went to open his eyes once again. Once he did, his guard shot up higher than before. He wasn't in the sand village, at least, not exactly.

It looked like the area where he had been before Cross knocked him out, but it was in a 'negative' state like Itachi's Tsukuyomi. There was no signs of Cross, Naruto or Gaara, but Sasuke kept having the feeling he was being watched.

"You know, you're pathetic even for a half demon." A dark sounding voice rang.

Sasuke whipped around only to see himself, in cursed mark mode, smirking at him. The difference was this Sasuke had black raven wings instead of hands.

"You think after being challenged like that, you would easily succumb to your new found instincts." Sasuke doppelganger continued.

"How did you get here?" Sasuke demanded. "I no longer have the curse mark, you should be gone."

"The mark disappeared, but the blood still flowed through your veins." Doppelganger said with a smirk. "You see, Juugo's blood was actually that of a demon ancestry of demons called Senshi. Master shape shifters."

"What does that have to do with me?" Sasuke growled at his doppelganger.

"Juugo was human, but had, I guess you would call it, preserved demon blood." It continued, ignoring Sasuke. "When you got the curse mark, his preserved blood became your own. There was a reason only some people could survive the process."

Sasuke looked away, remembering that part with clenched fists.

"You're a half demon because you came in contact with something that 'awakened' the demon portion of your blood." It said. "The more times you came in contact with it, the quicker it changed yourself."

Sasuke didn't need any hints to know that it was Naruto's own energy that changed him. He was speechless know though, which caused the doppelganger's smirk to widen and laugh.

"Let's see how much control you have when the abilities of the Senshi mix with your Uchiha blood." It said as it started to fade into the background. "Let's find out if you really are a prodigy!"

It was gone after that, but it's laughed echoed for a while. Unfortunately Sasuke was still stuck in this Tsukuyomi like state. He sighed as he looked around.

"Shape shift huh?" He thought outloud. "How would I use that?"

No answer came to him as he tried to think. The thought finally angered him to where he threw a kunai into the ground. A cut appeared in the air where the blade touched. Slightly curious, Sasuke touched the area and felt it expand. He took a deep breathe and managed to move it up to his eyes. Looking through it, he saw Naruto and Gaara, unconscious on the ground, and Cross about to slice down at him.

Sasuke gasp deeply and opened his eyes wide. The next thing he knew, He was awake and had caught Cross' claws. Now if only the other two would wake up.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 18 (Succumb to it)

(Naruto)

"Hey, kid." a quiet, but strong voice echoed. "Wake up."

Naruto felt his body move slightly. He wanted to get up, to keep fighting, but his body felt heavier than ever. He fought against his own muscles as he tried to sit up. He eventually succeeded and opened his eyes to see his subconscious room that Kurama used to be imprisoned in.

And it wasn't just him in it either. There was another man, around twenty or so, with red orange hair and crimson red eyes with vertical pupils. He had sharp claws and fangs protruding out of his mouth a bit.

"Ku…Kurama?" Naruto stuttered as he stood up. "But how? I thought the kid…?"

"The kid is, but isn't me." He stated simply. "I have a lot to explain to you right now, so get comfortable."

Naruto nodded and sat back on the floor. All this moving was really stretching out his muscles. Kurama sighed and sat down beside him. There was pain in his eyes, but he seemed much more relaxed than he ever had been.

"I know Azaelia explained to you how you became a demon. And I know you've become a very powerful one at that." He started. "But you could be much stronger if you let your instincts run wild a little bit more."

"I'd rather not." Naruto said strongly. 'I've seen what happens to those who do that."

"It's not the same thing, brat." Kurama chuckled darkly. "Demons like Cross lost what really controls instinct. It's not the brain, it's your heart. And you have a rather strong one."

"But Azaelia loses control like several of them." Naruto stated, a hint of worry. "Why is that?"

"Because desert demons are ruled by their emotions. If any emotion becomes strong, whether it's positive or negative, they turn wild." Kurama explained. "When a negative emotion riles up, she's dangerous to those who caused it. But she still has enough control to not attack allies."

Naruto slowly nodded his head. "What else can I do now? Now that I'm like this?"

"Your first attacks are much stronger now, that's for sure. Your healing is a lot faster and your speed, strength and defense are much greater." He started. "And your energy is much higher and denser."

"That's stuff I already know!" Naruto whined. "Tell me something I don't know!"

"All I'm going to say is try concentrating the denser energy into certain areas." He said. "It's for you to find out and learn yourself."

Kurama stood up now and started to walk away slowly. Naruto jumped up and moved to follow, but the fox stopped him.

"For something you don't know, let me explained the kid who shares my name." He said without looking at him. "I wasn't born like normal demons. I was created by being split from one demon, you know that, and I gave up the life I had been given to save you."

He breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly.

"That kid came to be from the spare energy of mine that didn't mold to yours. Which is why he has no memory of anything but a name." Kurama said. "He was born of me, but he isn't me."

He started to walk off and began to fade away. Naruto stood there, almost being overloaded at all the new information. He sighed himself as he now had no clue what he was supposed to do and he was just getting frustrated.

After a while, he felt hungry and could feel a tightening in his throat. His mind stayed concentrating on that area as he stomach growled louder. Letting go of some frustration, he roared loudly, causing the room to shake violently. He had to close his eyes momentarily and opened to be laying on the ground.

He sat up again and saw Sasuke trying to keep Cross away from him. He had pulled himself out of his subconscious just in time.

Naruto growled deeply when he saw the fight going on before noticing that Gaara was still out cold. Instead the blonde stood up and went to help Sasuke, figuring something was going on inside the red head's mind as well.

Naruto quickly ran up behind Sasuke, swerved around and punched Cross right in the face. Cross jumped up quickly and started towards Naruto. The blonde thought about what Kurama had told him, about concentrating energy. Cross was getting closer and closer and Naruto could feel the tightening in his throat once more. Pretty soon, Cross was almost right on top of Naruto and the blonde let out a loud and powerful roar.

Cross was thrown into the cliff side, the crunching of bones could be heard well. Both Naruto and Sasuke stood there, dumbstruck, for a few seconds. It was just the strength of the roar that confused them, it was the fact you could see the sound waves when they hit Cross.

Without a single word to each other, they started formulating the same plan. Hoping that Gaara would wake up soon so they could change the plan and get rid of the annoying nuisance that calls himself Cross.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 19 (Embracing for Impact)

(Gaara)

Gaara felt the small movement of sand underneath him, felt the light breeze brush his skin. He didn't want to open his eyes, for he was dreaming of Azaelia. He heard a faint whisper, almost like it was in the back of his mind.

It sounded like himself, but also sounded more childish. Then another whisper followed it before he could decipher the first. This new one was sweet and caring, soft, but protective. Gaara decided it was time to open his eyes finally.

He was laying in a desert made of white sand. In the distance, walking towards him, were two figures. One was definitely female, judging by body type. The other was male. Gaara started to stand up, though his muscles didn't seem to want to move.

He looked back up and the figures were standing right in front of him. Gaara felt a knot in his throat as he automatically recognized who the female was.

"M...mother." He choked out quietly. The woman smiled caringly as she approached the red head.

"My little boy," She said soothingly. "Well, you're not so little now are you?"

"No, he isn't." Said the male with a quiet growl. "Still smaller than most human men and he's not even human anymore!"

Gaara looked over at the male standing near his mother. Short sandy brown hair all in a mess, desert marred skin with a few scars here and there. His eyes were…

"Shukaku?" Gaara questioned, hoping that he was wrong.

A playful smile came across the other male's mouth. Fangs were revealed in the smile and his eyes grew brighter.

"You recognize me, huh?" He said, acting almost like a kid. "Good thing though, maybe I can give you a few pointers with that half breed of yours."

Gaara instinctively growled low and threateningly. Shukaku gave him a weird look, but shifted to a more defensive position.

"It's true, then." His mother said quietly. "You have become a demon."

"Mother…" Gaara turned his attention to her quickly, His aggression tuning down. "I…yes, I have."

"That girl, she's really a beautiful young woman." Karura said and smiled again. "She seems just right for my youngest son. And I know you'll protect her, like I'll always be there for you."

Gaara could feel the tears welling up, but he refused to let them fall. He hugged his mother tightly, this being the first ever real hug they've ever shared. Shukaku changed his position again, but not into a fighting stance.

"You know, you're stronger than me." He kind of grumbled. "Being the only desert demon able to manipulate sand and glass. That girl, she's done good for ya."

"What else could you do?" The red head asked after letting go of Karura. "There's got to be something more. I'm not just fighting for Zael anymore. I'm fighting for…my kids."

It was the first time he had said it out loud and the first time the weight actually hit him. Shukaku looked at him seriously, something that seemed off about the demon.

"You know sand together is a pretty big mess, but separate the particles of sand is actually pretty small." He said and turned to walk away. "Heavy enough to crush bones, but light enough to fly in the wind."

Gaara stood there feeling a little confused about what Shukaku meant. He didn't know how to respond, and didn't get a chance too as Karura placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You're a smart young man Gaara. Already the Kazekage at such a young age." She said with a hint of pride. "You'll figure out what to do."

"Mother." He said when he realized she was about to leave as well. A few tears escaped. "I am happy to be able to really meet you."

"And I am happy that you've grown into such a fine young man with many friends." She said with a huge smile. "Now, what is it you plan to do when you wake up?"

Her voice was started to fade, slowly, along with her body. Gaara held his head down in order to let the rest of the tears fall. He didn't have to think about his answer. He knew what he planned to do, what he wanted to do. He lifted up his head, the sand flying around his body.

"I will protect my friends," He said quietly. "I will protect my family. I will not let anyone else suffer!"

His eyes started glowing a faint yellow, almost a sandy brown color. He felt a heat running around the outside of his body as well as feeling like he was being weighted down. He closed his eyes and roared as strong as he could. This woke him up instantly, his eyes glowing an intense sandy gold. His skin and hair had a slight coating of white colored sand. Tattoos of Shukaku covered him from head to toe.

He quickly joined in the fight with Naruto and Sasuke, using a small blast of sand turned glass in the pit of Cross' stomach. Naruto used the small diversion to use another 'energy roar' and sent the demon flying towards Sasuke, who's right hand had turned pitch black. The raven's hand had become had than diamond, much harder, and he knocked Cross into the cliff wall with little trouble.

Gaara got an idea now, quickly thinking on his feet, he created his ultimate shield around the three. Cross did not like this at all as he started to attack the sand until his fingers bled. He couldn't hear them, he couldn't smell them. His instincts were going nuts.

Cross was about to attack the sand again when the area he had been going after erupted into black flames. It created a glass window where the three had become visible. Sasuke had one hand on the window with a small smirk, Gaara stood the farthest with his arms crossed and Naruto was making faces at Cross like a antagonizing little kid.

This was really angering the wild beast. He roared, causing the sand on the ground to shift into a perfect circle around him, before charging the wall one last time. Naruto took a small step back and Sasuke eyes flashed a bright red and the glass morphed into a clawed hand which caught Cross in midair. Gaara unfolded his arms and clenched both fists together, resulting in the glass breaking inwardly.

Blood splattered on the ground just as fast as this had happened. Cross landed on the circle of sand his roared had created. Sasuke set up a black flame barrier, high and hot as hell. The three stood there, all with a serious and stern look.

"We told you last time, Cross." Sasuke said, growling lowly.

"Even if Zael wouldn't kill you," Naruto spoke next, baring his fangs.

"We will." Gaara finished, his eyes beginning to glow the intense gold again.

Cross just growled and breathed heavy, trying to make it seem like he still had energy. None of the younger men fell for it. Naruto started up a Rasengan, small but powerful, and threw it at Cross' feet. The powerful attack blew off his left foot and caused all the sand to rise into the air.

Sasuke breathed in deeply and breathed out a broad stream of Hell's Black fire, burning Cross' skin nearly off and turning the sand into glass. Gaara rose his right hand to his eye level and clenched his fist together. The glass broke into several shards and ripped through Cross like he was an old rag doll.

With one last weak roar, Cross fell to the ground again in the same spot. Without moving, Gaara caused the area to turn to quicksand, sucking his body deep within the earth. Sasuke found a stick and, after his eyes flashed red again, turned it into a long rod-like thing.

He stuck it in the middle of the quicksand and waited til only about an inch was sticking out. He breathed in sharply and let loose a thin stream of black fire down the tube for a few seconds. Naruto finished it up by concentrating and compressing his energy into his palm. He set his hand on the top of the tube and released the energy.

All three felt the small earthquake that had created, but they all knew that now it meant the end of Cross. Tired, sore and sure they lost more blood than what anyone else could've survived. They slowly headed back to the village.

Following their noses to lead them to Zael, they made it too the hospital. Kankuro, Kiba, Sakura and Lee had been outside when the walked up. Kurama had caught the scent of his new guardians and ran outside quickly.

"You're back!" He said in a happy and hyper tone, jumping to hug Sasuke.

The raven growled from the slight pain it caused and pulled him off by his shirt. His look quickly changed and he hugged the boy back. Naruto laughed quietly and walked closer before Kurama jumped and hugged him too. The blonde just winced before hugging him back and putting him down.

"You three did it." Sakura said in amazement, almost sounding like she had had her doubts.

"Way to go, little brother." Kankuro said and placed his hand on Gaara's shoulder. Even the small gesture caused the red head to whine in pain.

"You three need rest and treatment." Lee said as he stayed in front of the door.

"No, I want to see Zael first." Gaara said, almost wheezing.

"Yeah." Naruto and Sasuke chimed in together, just as weak.

The four didn't have to protest as the three collapsed from exhaustion. The fall didn't result in anymore damage for them, more like they damaged the stone when they fell. Kankuro sighed and lifted his brother. The other three picked up the other two before heading into the hospital doors.

"She and your daughters will be there after you've had your rest." Kankuro said quietly.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 20 **(New Families)

The wind howled quietly through the semi-closed window of the hospital room. The three bodies that lay in the bed stirred ever so slightly together. Naruto, Sasuke and Gaara had finally woken up after a full 30 hours of sleep.

All three felt completely renewed as they stretched until their shoulders popped. Naruto looked over at Sasuke and left his bed to climb into the raven's bed and snuggle against him. The red head looked around, vaguely remembering what happened.

They stayed dazed until they heard the door open. Young Kurama entered quietly, a huge smile appearing when he saw them awake.

"Kankuro!" He called loudly. "Temari! They're awake now."

None of the three got to respond as all their friends rushed into the room. All of the Leaf Ninja, Kankuro and Temari, surrounded the three, constantly asking how they were feeling. Gaara looked around, confused at the fact that one person was missing.

"Where's Zael?" He asked, just loud enough to be heard over everyone.

They all became quiet, looking at him intently. Kankuro was the one to approach him and helped him out of the bed. Temari and Sakura both had a soft smile.

"It's time to meet your family, Gaara." Kankuro said as Kiba and Lee helped Sasuke and Naruto out of their beds.

All three had frozen for a few seconds before following the lead of the ones helping them. Once they got to the door of Zael's room, they stood there on their own. Gaara knocked quietly and waited for the quiet 'Come in' to answer.

The red head opened the door slowly, feeling his heart rate speed up as he looked up and saw Zael holding two pink bundles. She smiled at him sweetly, beckoning him to come closer.

"You're awake." She said, more stated. 'Come meet your daughters.

Gaara walked up to her bed and sat down on the edge beside her. He looked down at the twin girls and felt something that he wasn't used too.

The first one he saw had Zael's hair and small black claws, but looked mostly like him. The other one had his hair color, but overall looked like Zael. And they were both baby girls. He sat beside her as she handed him the baby that looked more like her.

"They're…they're beautiful." He said in a barely audible whisper. "You haven't named them yet have you?'

Zael shook her head gently as Naruto and Sasuke walked up to her bed. They smiled as little Kurama stood on Sasuke's shoulders.

"I have at least one idea though." She said quietly as Gaara looked at her. "I kind of want to name one of them Karura."

Gaara looked at her with a straight face that could not be cracked. She answered with a dead serious, yet sweet, look in her eyes. After a few silent minutes he answered with his small smile and nodded.

"Karura and Tsuki." He responded finally. Zael smiled, a few tears appearing in the corners of her eyes.

"I can tell you know, Gaara." Zael started. "They'll both probably take more after you since their DNA is three fourths Desert Demon. And strong parents means strong kids."

"Then, they'll take after you." He stated and kissed her check. "If I remember correctly, you are the strongest demon as well as the youngest."

She smiled, a small blush creeping on her cheeks. She looked up as the others started to surround her, everyone smiling and standing together. Tears started falling slowly as her smile grew.

"I have a family, the best family anyone could have asked for."


	26. Chapter 26

Last note.

As I feel I have finally finished this story. I'm wanting to continue on, but with the kids. Beofre I start, I want to know your opinion. Please R&R and tell me what you think!


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